On 30 Dec, 05:54, Mwmbwls wrote:

Call for review of rail zones after complaints


Altering the zone boundaries raises three problems:
- althougth some fares would become cheaper, others would go up,
possibly leading to even more complaints.

- the outer boundary of Z6 follows the Greater London boundary because
TfL are naturally unwilling to pay for transport outside London unless
the local authorities there contribute. (They don't want to).

- the zones apply to both buses and rail, so extending the Z6 boundary
would either bring presently 'country' bus services into the TfL
network (expensive) or leave some bus services running inside the
Zones but not part of the TfL fare structure (as happens on a few bus
routes running South from Kingston where it is confusing for, and
unpopular with, users).
One way out of the bus problem would be to have boundary extensions
which applied only to rail (as happens between Surbiton & Hampton
Court, which is Z6 for rail), but applied on a large scale this would
also create a lot of confusion, and may lead to bus passengers
switching to rail for short trips, adding to overcrowding. (E.g.
Thames Ditton is in Z6 for rail but outside the zones for buses - so a
one-zone rail fare is cheaper than the (unregulated) local bus fare to
Surbiton, and travelcard users getting trains to Thames Ditton are
sometimes surprised to find their tickets are not valid on any buses
passing the station).

Jon