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[email protected] February 15th 09 10:23 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via Z1(UPDATED !!!)
 
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London Overground), nor crossing into Z1 and the
availability of my z2-6 YPRC cap on Oyster. I was told that perhaps
breaking my journey at White City may force the cap. Well here is
what happened.
I had to go to Stratford to meet some friends first.

Greenford - White City (Central Line ) = £1.10

Shepherd's Bush - Stratford ( London Overground, changing at Willesden
Junction) = £2.20

Stratford - Camden Road ( London Overground) = £1.10

TOTAL = £4.40

[Z2-6 CAP = £3.00]

I had thought that going from ShepB to Stratford via LO would have
resulted in my fare being capped, obviously this did not happen. I was
also charged for the Stratford - Camden Road journey. I queried this
with Ticket Staff and they said that to get from Shepherd's Bush to
Stratford I must have gone through Z1 and that I was going to reach my
cap for the day when my Oyster usage reached £5.80 ( 1-6 cap). When I
said I used LO via Willesden Junction and did not travel through Z1
they were flummoxed and said I should ring Customer Service. So can
we conclude that Shepherds Bush (LO /WLL/NLL) - Stratford is a via
Zone 1 journey / fare even though the obvious route of choice is not
via the central line ( ie via z1) but via WLL/NLL ? Unfair ?
Incorrect ?

Salamatsys !

MIG February 15th 09 10:31 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is viaZ1 (UPDATED !!!)
 
On Feb 15, 11:23*am, wrote:
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden *Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London *Overground), nor crossing into *Z1 and the
availability of my z2-6 YPRC cap on Oyster. * I was told that perhaps
breaking my journey at *White City may force the cap. Well here is
what happened.
I had to go to Stratford to meet some friends first.

Greenford - White City (Central Line ) = £1.10

Shepherd's Bush - Stratford ( London Overground, changing at Willesden
Junction) = £2.20

Stratford - Camden *Road ( London Overground) = £1.10

TOTAL = £4.40

[Z2-6 CAP = £3.00]

I had thought that going from ShepB to *Stratford via LO would have
resulted in my fare being capped, obviously this did not happen. I was
also charged for the Stratford - Camden Road journey. I queried this
with Ticket Staff and they said that to get from Shepherd's Bush to
Stratford I must have gone through Z1 and that I was going to reach my
cap for the day when my Oyster usage reached £5.80 ( 1-6 cap). When I
said I used LO via Willesden Junction and did not travel through Z1
they were flummoxed and said I should ring Customer Service. So *can
we conclude that Shepherds Bush (LO /WLL/NLL) - Stratford is a via
Zone 1 journey / fare *even though the obvious route of choice is not
via the central *line ( ie via z1) but via WLL/NLL ? Unfair ?
Incorrect ?

Salamatsys !


If I interpreted that right, it means that the reader at Shepherds
Bush LO is programmed to be the same as the reader at Shepherds Bush
Central Line, despite being a separate building and it not being
possible to reach the Central Line from it.

That does seem to be unfair.

Mizter T February 15th 09 03:43 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is viaZ1 (UPDATED !!!)
 

On 15 Feb, 11:23, wrote:
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden *Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London *Overground), nor crossing into *Z1 and the
availability of my z2-6 YPRC cap on Oyster. * I was told that perhaps
breaking my journey at *White City may force the cap. Well here is
what happened.
I had to go to Stratford to meet some friends first.

Greenford - White City (Central Line ) = £1.10

Shepherd's Bush - Stratford ( London Overground, changing at Willesden
Junction) = £2.20

Stratford - Camden *Road ( London Overground) = £1.10

TOTAL = £4.40

[Z2-6 CAP = £3.00]

I had thought that going from ShepB to *Stratford via LO would have
resulted in my fare being capped, obviously this did not happen. I was
also charged for the Stratford - Camden Road journey. I queried this
with Ticket Staff and they said that to get from Shepherd's Bush to
Stratford I must have gone through Z1 and that I was going to reach my
cap for the day when my Oyster usage reached £5.80 ( 1-6 cap). When I
said I used LO via Willesden Junction and did not travel through Z1
they were flummoxed and said I should ring Customer Service. So *can
we conclude that Shepherds Bush (LO /WLL/NLL) - Stratford is a via
Zone 1 journey / fare *even though the obvious route of choice is not
via the central *line ( ie via z1) but via WLL/NLL ? Unfair ?
Incorrect ?


Yes, you can conclude that a Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford
journey is assumed to be via zone 1. I can tell you this because
that's what the TfL Fare finder tells me - specifically that the fare
from "Shepherd's Bush [London Overground]" to "Stratford" is either
£2.70 peak or £2.20 off-peak, and those are the zone 1-3 fares.

TfL Fare finder:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tickets/fa...09/farefinder/

And yes, I do think it's daft. My guess as to why this is the case is
that perhaps both Shepherd's Bush Central line and WLL stations are
treated as kind of being the same station on the Oyster database,
either because the architecture of the Oyster database means this is
required (in order to maintain the out-of-station interchange) or
because it hasn't been thought through well enough.

If it is the former problem - that the system can't cope with it -
then I'd hope that the upcoming upgrade to the whole Oyster PAYG
system would resolve that.

If you look at the TfL fare finder you'll see that "Shepherd's Bush
[London Overground]" to "Camden Road" is charged at £1.10 (both peak
and off-peak) - therefore if you had broken your journey at White City
and travelled on from Shepherd's Bush (LO/WLL) only as far as Camden
Road then I'm confident you'd be in line for the zone 2-6 cap of £4.60
(or £3.00 with a Railcard). Going to Stratford unfortunately pushes it
over the edge to a via z1 fare.

I suppose you could try writing to Oyster customer services about this
- not the Shepherd's Bush out-of-station interchange issue (best to
keep it simple) but just the fact that journeys from Shepherd's Bush
(LO/WLL) to Stratford fares are charged as being via z1 even when you
travel on the NLL.

Mizter T February 15th 09 11:45 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is viaZ1 (UPDATED !!!)
 

Mizter T wrote:

On 15 Feb, 11:23, wrote:
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London Overground), nor crossing into Z1 and the
availability of my z2-6 YPRC cap on Oyster. I was told that perhaps
breaking my journey at White City may force the cap. Well here is
what happened.
I had to go to Stratford to meet some friends first.

Greenford - White City (Central Line ) = £1.10

Shepherd's Bush - Stratford ( London Overground, changing at Willesden
Junction) = £2.20

Stratford - Camden Road ( London Overground) = £1.10

TOTAL = £4.40

[Z2-6 CAP = £3.00]

I had thought that going from ShepB to Stratford via LO would have
resulted in my fare being capped, obviously this did not happen. I was
also charged for the Stratford - Camden Road journey. I queried this
with Ticket Staff and they said that to get from Shepherd's Bush to
Stratford I must have gone through Z1 and that I was going to reach my
cap for the day when my Oyster usage reached £5.80 ( 1-6 cap). When I
said I used LO via Willesden Junction and did not travel through Z1
they were flummoxed and said I should ring Customer Service. So can
we conclude that Shepherds Bush (LO /WLL/NLL) - Stratford is a via
Zone 1 journey / fare even though the obvious route of choice is not
via the central line ( ie via z1) but via WLL/NLL ? Unfair ?
Incorrect ?


Yes, you can conclude that a Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford
journey is assumed to be via zone 1. I can tell you this because
that's what the TfL Fare finder tells me - specifically that the fare
from "Shepherd's Bush [London Overground]" to "Stratford" is either
£2.70 peak or £2.20 off-peak, and those are the zone 1-3 fares.

TfL Fare finder:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tickets/fa...09/farefinder/

(snip)

If you look at the TfL fare finder you'll see that "Shepherd's Bush
[London Overground]" to "Camden Road" is charged at £1.10 (both peak
and off-peak) - therefore if you had broken your journey at White City
and travelled on from Shepherd's Bush (LO/WLL) only as far as Camden
Road then I'm confident you'd be in line for the zone 2-6 cap of £4.60
(or £3.00 with a Railcard). Going to Stratford unfortunately pushes it
over the edge to a via z1 fare.

(snip)


I'm not quite up to speed today! There's nothing wrong in what I said
in the above post (apart perhaps from it being too verbose! - you'll
see I've snipped some of what I quoted), however I failed to think of
something really obvious!

If you wanted to break a Shepherd's Bush to Stratford journey to
ensure you only paid zone 2&3 fares and thus qualified for the z2-6
cap, at Willesden Jn station where you have to change from the WLL to
the NLL train you could simply exit and then re-enter the station,
i.e. go out of the gates and then back in them. This would mean you
would pay for a Shepherd's Bush [LO] to Willesden Jn fare (zone 2),
and then a separate Willesden Jn to Stratford fare (zone 2&3).

On the way from Shepherd's Bush to Stratford one has a 17 minute wait
for the next eastbound NLL train, so that's plenty of time for such
things. Going the other way, from Stratford to Shepherd's Bush, one
might have a tighter 6 minutes to do this in (or otherwise 21 minutes
- the NLL is every 15 mins, the WLL is half-hourly, so it depends
which NLL train you catch).

However in my book that's more than enough time as long as you don't
dilly dally when you get there (though this is all assuming that the
NLL and WLL is running to time, perhaps a bad assumption to make!).
Anyway, in the case of your example, you might only be coming back
west from Camden Road, unless you go with your friends to Stratford
and then come back on yourself. Note - all the times given are for
middle of the day journeys, things are different late evening (when
the NLL is ever 20 mins) and Sundays (when the NLL is half-hourly), so
don't rely on me and check them first [1].

If you don't want people to think you're mad by exiting and then
immediately re-entering the station, then Willesden Jn has two
entrances with two separate gatelines - if you've enough time (and 6
minutes is not enough unless you run!) you could leave from one exit
and re-enter the station through its other entrance.

I realise this journey is now sounding like a real palaver - exit the
Central line at White City, walk to Shepherd's Bush, exit and then re-
enter Willesden Jn station! Which led me on to another thought...

Forget about the WLL altogether! At White City you're not actually
that far from Willesden Junction, and there is a frequent bus route,
the 220, that goes from Wood Lane (the road directly outside White
City station) up to Willesden Jn - it runs every 6-10 mins and is
scheduled to take 11 minutes to get to the eastern side way entrance
to Willesden Jn station (off Harlesden High Street), or otherwise 14
minutes to get to the western (main) entrance.

You can see the 220 on this map of bus routes from White City - it
goes from bus stop WE opposite the station entrance:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...field-2447.pdf

This is the bus route map around Willesden Jn - the eastern side
entrance to the station is I think right next to bus stop H, the one
that's named "Harrow Road/ Scrubs Lane":
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...ation-2301.pdf

Alternatively stay on the bus to arrive at the main station entrance
on Station Approach.

By the by the side entrance is actually quite useful, as the buses can
get a but stuck in traffic going through Harlesden to get to the main
station entrance, though the side way in is possibly somewhere you
might want to avoid at night. This bird's eye view shows where it is
in relation to Harlesden High Street (which the map incorrectly labels
as Harrow Road) - the bus stop is just on the bridge, the entrance is
down those stairs off the bridge and then pan the map to the west/
left and you'll come to the station:
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?cp...&style=b&lvl=2

I think there could well be something in this route - the WLL service
is after all only half-hourly (this is set to improve in the future,
but not quite yet) so you might end up waiting around for a long time
at Shepherd's Bush, only to have to wait around for longer at
Willesden Jn. The 220 meanwhile is a decent and direct bus route -
there's also the 228 that links White City with Willesden Jn though it
does look as if it goes round the houses a bit. I'd say this route
would likely provide a better chance of catching an eastbound NLL
train from Willesden Jn earlier than if one was to go via Shepherd's
Bush, resulting in a quicker end-to-end journey. And of course it
would qualify for the z2-6 cap too!


----------
[1] If you haven't come across it before this is a good site for train
times - all the information comes directly from the National Rail
journey planner but is presented in a more basic less flashy way:
http://traintimes.org.uk/

Fig[_2_] February 16th 09 01:26 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is viaZ1 (UPDATED !!!)
 
On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:45:33 -0000, Mizter T wrote:


Mizter T wrote:

On 15 Feb, 11:23, wrote:
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London Overground) [to avoid zone 1]


Forget about the WLL altogether! At White City you're not actually
that far from Willesden Junction, and there is a frequent bus route,
the 220, that goes from Wood Lane


If we're getting a bus, might I suggest alighting at North Acton and
getting a 266 (Stop Z towards Brent Cross) for the 5 min journey to
Willesden Junction.

--
Fig

Mizter T February 16th 09 08:01 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is viaZ1 (UPDATED !!!)
 

On 16 Feb, 02:26, Fig wrote:

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:45:33 -0000, Mizter T wrote:

Mizter T wrote:


On 15 Feb, 11:23, wrote:
This is especially for Mizter T but I hope that it may be of benefit
to others.
You may recall my proposed journey Greenford - Camden *Road via
Shepherd's Bush (London *Overground) [to avoid zone 1]


Forget about the WLL altogether! At White City you're not actually
that far from Willesden Junction, and there is a frequent bus route,
the 220, that goes from Wood Lane


If we're getting a bus, might I suggest alighting at North Acton and *
getting a 266 (Stop Z towards Brent Cross) for the 5 min journey to *
Willesden Junction.


Fair enough - I'd thought about walking between either North Acton or
East Acton (Central line) and South Acton (NLL) but hadn't looked into
the bus situation. The 266 is of course one of west London's trunk
routes so it offers a good, frequent service too. What's more is that
is goes straight up Old Oak Lane which is next to the main western
entrance to the station (stop L), so no need to walk down the pathway
from the eastern side way in either. And it is indeed literally a 5
minute journey, so says the timetable, with buses "every 5-9
minutes" [1].

Excellent stuff Fig, thanks for that.


----------
[1] This unofficial website offers the full (non-simplified)
timetables of all bus routes in London, should one want the exact
timings of when a bus is supposed to be running:
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/

[email protected] February 16th 09 08:34 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
In article
,
(Mizter T) wrote:

Forget about the WLL altogether! At White City you're not actually
that far from Willesden Junction, and there is a frequent bus route,
the 220, that goes from Wood Lane (the road directly outside White
City station) up to Willesden Jn - it runs every 6-10 mins and is
scheduled to take 11 minutes to get to the eastern side way entrance
to Willesden Jn station (off Harlesden High Street), or otherwise 14
minutes to get to the western (main) entrance.

You can see the 220 on this map of bus routes from White City - it
goes from bus stop WE opposite the station entrance:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro.../whitecitywest
field-2447.pdf

This is the bus route map around Willesden Jn - the eastern side
entrance to the station is I think right next to bus stop H, the one
that's named "Harrow Road/ Scrubs Lane":
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro.../willesdenjunc
tionstation-2301.pdf

Alternatively stay on the bus to arrive at the main station entrance
on Station Approach.


The 220 is the successor to the old 630 trolleybus route of my youth (and
before it the 30 tram route). ISTR that terminated "Near Willesden
Junction" which sounds like bus stop H to me.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

[email protected] February 16th 09 10:51 AM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the most excellent and very useful information.
Some of the fare & journey calculations seem to have changed perhaps
for the better or worse ? Expanding on what Mizter T said about
changing at Willesden J and touching out and then in again. Well, in
the past I have touched out and then back in again in quick
succession, at several different stations and this has not registered
on my card, e.g. last year I travelled from Camden Road - Stratford
( via LO) , touched out at Stratford for less than 5 minutes, met a
friend, touched in again and we both continued on to Mile End.
Inspection of my Oyster usage showed that I was charged for Camden
Road - Mile End journey, with no reference to Stratford. Hence, on
Saturday's journey I thought perhaps such quick touching out and back
in to try to force a z2-6 cap ( at both Willesden J and Stratford)
would not count as a journey. I have read other examples where
passengers have quickly got out of a station to pick up some dry
cleaning or shopping, touched back in again within a space of 0-15
mins and not been charged for this break of journey nor has this break
been registered /noted on their Oyster usage. On Saturday my
assumptions of past experiences were wrong. Touching out and back in
at Stratford ( I was outside Stratford for less than 2 mins) did now
register as a journey as would have doing the same at WJ.
Consequently, I was charged a separate Stratford - Camden Rd fare,
which on last years experience I may have not been charged. Also last
year Willesden Junction - Stratford was priced as a via Z1 fare. I
think there was a lot of debate over this and other NLL/WLL//LO
oyster pricing of fares in another forum. ( courtesy of Yorkie(?) )
Mizter T. I caught the 12.17 from SB to WJ and had a 2 min wait at
WJ for the 12.29 train to Stratford. I think I may have been cutting
it short if I attempted touching out and then back in again !
Just as a footnote. Just after Xmas I was wrongly charged for a South
Ruislip - Clapham Junction ( via Central line and changing at
Shepherd's Bush onto LO to CJ). I was charged double the fare but was
recently reimbursed. Customer services staff explained to me that
there had been some gating problems at Shepherd's Bush ( LO ) which
have now been resolved.

thanks in advance
:-)

Mizter T February 16th 09 12:17 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

wrote:

Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the most excellent and very useful information.
Some of the fare & journey calculations seem to have changed perhaps
for the better or worse ? Expanding on what Mizter T said about
changing at Willesden J and touching out and then in again. Well, in
the past I have touched out and then back in again in quick
succession, at several different stations and this has not registered
on my card, e.g. last year I travelled from Camden Road - Stratford
( via LO) , touched out at Stratford for less than 5 minutes, met a
friend, touched in again and we both continued on to Mile End.
Inspection of my Oyster usage showed that I was charged for Camden
Road - Mile End journey, with no reference to Stratford.


Question - when you say you touched-out and back in at Stratford last
year, did you go all the way outside through the main gateline and out
on to the street outside the station entrance?

In this situation there is a difference between touching-out/in on the
standalone Oyster validators that are *within* Stratford station (i.e.
within the fare paid area inside the gates) and leaving and then re-
entering the station through the gates. It sounds to me as though you
may have just used one of these 'interchange validators' (more on this
later).


Hence, on
Saturday's journey I thought perhaps such quick touching out and back
in to try to force a z2-6 cap (at both Willesden J and Stratford)
would not count as a journey. I have read other examples where
passengers have quickly got out of a station to pick up some dry
cleaning or shopping, touched back in again within a space of 0-15
mins and not been charged for this break of journey nor has this break
been registered /noted on their Oyster usage.


OK. My understanding is that if you exit and then re-enter *the same
station* *through an automatic gate* then this will finish your
previous journey and start a new journey.

At stations where there are no gates, just standalone Oyster
validators, the situation might be different. At these stations it
*might possibly* be the case that if you touch-out and then touch-in
after a short space of time your journey is considered as continuing.
This basically depends on how the standalone Oyster validators are
configured - they can either be set up to simply end journeys when
they detect there is an 'open journey' on the card (i.e. it has been
touched-in somewhere else), or if no existing journey is detected then
they will start a new journey. (This is how most of the standalone
Oyster validators work at DLR stations - plus I think it's how they're
generally set up at other ungated stations which aren't significant
interchange points.)

Otherwise they can be set as 'interchange validators' - touching-in on
these doesn't finish a journey that has already started, instead it
tells the card that the journey may be finished, or it may carry on to
somewhere else. In other words if you don't touch-out somewhere else
in the next hour or two then the journey will be considered as having
finished, if you do touch-out somewhere else then the journey will be
extended on to that next station.

And because of the way the system is currently set up, it means that
you will only be charged for the journey between your starting station
and your ultimate destination station - hence the fact that you got
charged for a direct Camden Road to Mile End journey, despite the fact
that you touched on a standalone Oyster validators in Stratford
station (at least that's what I'm assuming you did - right?).
Thankfully though this situation looks likely to change in the near
future which will mean that Oyster will be capable of charging cheaper
fares for cheaper routes.

Another situation where one might well only get charged for one
journey despite going off and doing other things in between is where a
person exits from one station, let's say Shepherd's Bush (Central
line), goes and does there stuff (returning some hideous pink and lime
green footwear bought during a lapse of taste at a shop in Westfield),
and then goes and gets on a train from Shepherd's Bush LO/ WLL
station. As the two Shepherd's Bush stations are tied together as an
out-of-station interchange (OSI, or 'outerchange' as we often
colloquially call them on here) then the system will consider the
previous journey as being continued.

Note that there is a time limit to how long the OSI stays 'live' on
the Oyster card - in other words how long you've got to get from one
station to the next - but TfL often set this very generously for ultra
slow people (or people who get lost, say in Hammersmith between the
District/Pic station and the H&C station!).


On Saturday my
assumptions of past experiences were wrong. Touching out and back in
at Stratford ( I was outside Stratford for less than 2 mins) did now
register as a journey as would have doing the same at WJ.
Consequently, I was charged a separate Stratford - Camden Rd fare,
which on last years experience I may have not been charged.


This time you went all the way out of the main gates and then back in
right? Unlike the standalone Oyster validators there's nothing
ambiguous about exiting through some gates and then re-entering the
same gates.

Note that gates can be set to allow for an OSI of course - this is how
they are set up at the two Shepherd's Bush stations (the cause of all
these issues in the first place!). In cases such as this, leaving one
station and continuing from the other will obviously simply extend the
original journey.

There's an Excel spreadsheet list of OSIs here (thanks to Walter
Briscoe and others who asked TfL for them) - I've created a TinyURL
because the original is massive:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/dd7dka

(Excel spreadsheets can be viewed using a free Excel viewer or also
via the free online Google Docs service.)


Also last
year Willesden Junction - Stratford was priced as a via Z1 fare.
think there was a lot of debate over this and other NLL/WLL//LO
oyster pricing of fares in another forum. ( courtesy of Yorkie(?) )


I believe TfL have indeed made a number of changes regarding what
routes the system assumed people took between stations. I'd think this
was because via z1 fares were being charged for some NLL journeys,
such as Willesden Jn to Stratford.


Mizter T. I caught the 12.17 from SB to WJ and had a 2 min wait at
WJ for the 12.29 train to Stratford. I think I may have been cutting
it short if I attempted touching out and then back in again !


Indeed! Either one or the other (or both!) trains were late running,
or else the timetables were different for whatever time you were
travelling. By the by, I do think Fig's idea of taking the 266 bus
from North Acton to Willesden Jn is a good one - it's a very short bus
journey on a frequent, reliable main route, and it would sidestep all
these issues about fares.


Just as a footnote. Just after Xmas I was wrongly charged for a South
Ruislip - Clapham Junction ( via Central line and changing at
Shepherd's Bush onto LO to CJ). I was charged double the fare but was
recently reimbursed. Customer services staff explained to me that
there had been some gating problems at Shepherd's Bush ( LO ) which
have now been resolved.


I presume you were charged an off-peak £1 or £1.10 fare twice then
(that's last year's and this year's fares). That's interesting, it
sounds as though there was some issue with the OSI facility being set
up on the Shepherd's Bush gates. If there was indeed such a mistake
then it's a bit shabby that these things happen. There have been a
number of times which involved incorrect data being sent out across
the system when updates occurred - I wonder if this was possible the
result of dodgy data being included when the new fares information was
being sent out? (The timing would appear to fit.)


thanks in advance
:-)


No problem.

I have one last solution for you, by the way - and I think you might
like it!

Because Oyster PAYG fares are currently charged based on the origin
and destination stations and disregard any intermediate touch-ins on
standalone Oyster *interchange* validators (i.e. ones *within*
stations that exist for interchange passengers - they are actually
really for people swapping between Oyster PAYG and paper tickets),
then what you could do is go from Shepherd's Bush/ Willesden Jn to
Stratford, touch-in on a standalone Oyster validator *within* the
station (e.g. next to the NLL platforms) but *don't* exit the
station's main gates. You could then meet your friend within Stratford
station and continue back along the NLL to Camden Road (or wherever) -
I'm pretty sure the Oyster system would then charge you for a
Shepherd's Bush/ Willesden Jn to Camden Road journey and would
disregard the Stratford touch-in.

And it would be completely legit because you would have touched-in at
Stratford - indeed, you can touch-in as many times you want on all the
different interchange validators there and it wouldn;t make a
difference! And *all* the standalone Oyster validators at Stratford
are set up as interchange validators (apart from the one next to the
manual gate to get in and out of the station) - and yes I have tested
this very recently!

Of course this 'solution' will only work until the PAYG system is
upgraded, likely later on this year - when this happens, interchanging
between the Central line and WLL Shepherd's Bush should ensure you pay
the cheaper non-z1 fare but it would also mean that touching-in at
Stratford is likely to mean you pay for a journey out to zone 3. In
your case this wouldn't matter though, as you'd be in line for the
z2-6 cap anyway. But it will be interesting to see whether a journey
from Greenford (z4) to Camden Rd (z2) with an intermediate touch-in at
Stratford (z3) would count as one continuous journey, or two separate
journeys (Greenford - Stratford, then Stratford - Camden Rd).

I hope that helps - sorry this post is so epic in length!

Mizter T February 16th 09 01:26 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:

[*massive* snip]

I have one last solution for you, by the way - and I think you might
like it!

Because Oyster PAYG fares are currently charged based on the origin
and destination stations and disregard any intermediate touch-ins on
standalone Oyster *interchange* validators (i.e. ones *within*
stations that exist for interchange passengers - they are actually
really for people swapping between Oyster PAYG and paper tickets),
then what you could do is go from Shepherd's Bush/ Willesden Jn to
Stratford, touch-in on a standalone Oyster validator *within* the
station (e.g. next to the NLL platforms) but *don't* exit the
station's main gates. You could then meet your friend within Stratford
station and continue back along the NLL to Camden Road (or wherever) -
I'm pretty sure the Oyster system would then charge you for a
Shepherd's Bush/ Willesden Jn to Camden Road journey and would
disregard the Stratford touch-in.

And it would be completely legit because you would have touched-in at
Stratford - indeed, you can touch-in as many times you want on all the
different interchange validators there and it wouldn;t make a
difference! And *all* the standalone Oyster validators at Stratford
are set up as interchange validators (apart from the one next to the
manual gate to get in and out of the station) - and yes I have tested
this very recently!

Of course this 'solution' will only work until the PAYG system is
upgraded, likely later on this year - when this happens, interchanging
between the Central line and WLL Shepherd's Bush should ensure you pay
the cheaper non-z1 fare but it would also mean that touching-in at
Stratford is likely to mean you pay for a journey out to zone 3. In
your case this wouldn't matter though, as you'd be in line for the
z2-6 cap anyway. But it will be interesting to see whether a journey
from Greenford (z4) to Camden Rd (z2) with an intermediate touch-in at
Stratford (z3) would count as one continuous journey, or two separate
journeys (Greenford - Stratford, then Stratford - Camden Rd).


Just to be crystal clear about this last point. At present, a
Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford journey is charged as being via
z1 regardless of the fact that the passenger might have travelled via
the WLL and NLL - that's daft, but that's the way it is at the moment.
However a Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Camden Road journey is charged
as a cheaper zone 2 journey.

My contention is that if a passenger was to go from Shepherd's Bush
(LO/ WLL) to Stratford, touch-in on an Oyster interchange validator
*within the station* and *stay within the station* - i.e. did not exit
and then re-enter the station through the main gates - then backtrack
on the NLL to Camden Road and exit, the system would only charge them
for a Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford journey. This would mean
they would be eligible for the z2-6 cap.

If however the passenger exited Stratford station out through the main
gates, they would be charged for a via z1 journey and would then only
be eligible for a z1-4 cap.

As I state above, the situation whereby a Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to
Stratford journey gets charged for a via z1 journey despite taking the
zone 2 route should hopefully be cleared up with the upcoming PAYG
system upgrade.

Probably best to reply to my previous post rather than this one to
avoid confusion, unless there's a specific point in this one that
anyone wants to raise.

[email protected] February 16th 09 01:34 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:

I hope that helps - sorry this post is so epic in length!


Thank you so very much Mizter T, your post made engrossing reading !
Just wanted to add a couple of things. On each occasion I have had
cause to go to Stratford I had to "exit" the station and pick up a
friend alighting from a bus at the terminus point outside of the
station. I have seen the validators you mentioned which are close to
the NLL platforms and have occasionally wondered as to what would
happen if I did touch on them ! I assume now that the gate system must
have changed so even a quick touch out and touch in again at the same
station is being recognised as two separate journeys ( the ending of
one journey and the beginning of another).
The problem over the Xmas S. Ruislip - Clapham Junction route was
due to incorrectly configured gates at Shepherd's Bush LO ( so I was
told). I got charged separately for both SR - SB (LU) and SB(LO) - CJ,
£1.00 + £1.00 instead of just £1.00 for the entire SR-CJ journey.

Thanks again !

cs

MIG February 16th 09 01:35 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:
wrote:
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the most excellent and very useful information.
Some of the fare & journey calculations seem to have changed perhaps
for the better or worse ? Expanding on what Mizter *T said about
changing at *Willesden J and touching out and then in again. Well, in
the past I have touched out and then back in again in quick
succession, at several different stations and this has not registered
on my card, e.g. last year I travelled from Camden *Road - Stratford
( via LO) , touched out at Stratford *for less than 5 minutes, met a
friend, touched in again and we both continued on to Mile End.
Inspection of my Oyster usage showed that I was charged for *Camden
Road - Mile End journey, with no reference to Stratford.


Question - when you say you touched-out and back in at Stratford last
year, did you go all the way outside through the main gateline and out
on to the street outside the station entrance?

In this situation there is a difference between touching-out/in on the
standalone Oyster validators that are *within* Stratford station (i.e.
within the fare paid area inside the gates) and leaving and then re-
entering the station through the gates. It sounds to me as though you
may have just used one of these 'interchange validators' (more on this
later).



Hence, on
Saturday's journey I thought perhaps such quick touching out and back
in to try to force a z2-6 cap (at both Willesden J and Stratford)
would not count as a journey. I have read other examples where
passengers have quickly got out of a station to pick up some dry
cleaning or shopping, touched back in again within a space of 0-15
mins and not been charged for this break of journey nor has this break
been registered /noted on their Oyster usage.


OK. My understanding is that if you exit and then re-enter *the same
station* *through an automatic gate* then this will finish your
previous journey and start a new journey.

At stations where there are no gates, just standalone Oyster
validators, the situation might be different. At these stations it
*might possibly* be the case that if you touch-out and then touch-in
after a short space of time your journey is considered as continuing.
This basically depends on how the standalone Oyster validators are
configured - they can either be set up to simply end journeys when
they detect there is an 'open journey' on the card (i.e. it has been
touched-in somewhere else), or if no existing journey is detected then
they will start a new journey. (This is how most of the standalone
Oyster validators work at DLR stations - plus I think it's how they're
generally set up at other ungated stations which aren't significant
interchange points.)

Otherwise they can be set as 'interchange validators' - touching-in on
these doesn't finish a journey that has already started, instead it
tells the card that the journey may be finished, or it may carry on to
somewhere else. In other words if you don't touch-out somewhere else
in the next hour or two then the journey will be considered as having
finished, if you do touch-out somewhere else then the journey will be
extended on to that next station.

And because of the way the system is currently set up, it means that
you will only be charged for the journey between your starting station
and your ultimate destination station - hence the fact that you got
charged for a direct Camden Road to Mile End journey, despite the fact
that you touched on a standalone Oyster validators in Stratford
station (at least that's what I'm assuming you did - right?).
Thankfully though this situation looks likely to change in the near
future which will mean that Oyster will be capable of charging cheaper
fares for cheaper routes.

Another situation where one might well only get charged for one
journey despite going off and doing other things in between is where a
person exits from one station, let's say Shepherd's Bush (Central
line), goes and does there stuff (returning some hideous pink and lime
green footwear bought during a lapse of taste at a shop in Westfield),
and then goes and gets on a train from Shepherd's Bush LO/ WLL
station. As the two Shepherd's Bush stations are tied together as an
out-of-station interchange (OSI, or 'outerchange' as we often
colloquially call them on here) then the system will consider the
previous journey as being continued.


The thing about this is that the Shepherds Bushes seem to be treated
not as an outerchange but as a more-like-Stratford situation where
it's all one station. The poster seems to have been charged for
travelling via the Central Line despite entering a building from which
it isn't possible to access the Central Line.

If the Shepherds Bushes were set up as separate stations with an
outerchange, you'd think he'd be charged the non-zone 1 fare.

Mizter T February 16th 09 01:58 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

On 16 Feb, 14:34, wrote:

On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:

I hope that helps - sorry this post is so epic in length!


Thank you so very much Mizter T, your post made engrossing reading !
Just wanted to add a couple of things. On each occasion I have had
cause to go to *Stratford I had to *"exit" the station and pick up a
friend alighting from a bus at the terminus point outside of the
station. I have seen the validators you mentioned which are close to
the NLL platforms and have occasionally wondered as to what would
happen if I did touch on them ! I assume now that the gate system must
have changed so even a quick touch out and touch in again at the same
station is being recognised as two separate journeys ( the ending of
one journey and the beginning of another).


OK, in that case I'm guilty of making an incorrect assumption about
what you had done at Stratford - sorry!

That's very interesting to hear what happened at Stratford. There's no
out-of-station interchange at Stratford with anywhere else - I mean
not going out of the main gates, so it seems peculiar that they would
be configured to allow a passenger to exit and then re-enter and
continue making their journey. They may have been incorrectly
configured at the time - perhaps the result of the complexity of what
happens at Stratford. I dunno - I must admit it's a bit of a mystery
to me!

I am certainly under the impression that exiting and then re-entering
Stratford would mean that the initial journey was ended and then a new
one was started - that's how I recollect things happening there, I've
never noticed anything happening like what you experience when I've
been there but perhaps I haven't been observant enough - indeed
perhaps it still happens. I'll try it next time I'm up in that neck of
the woods.

As I said, *if* you can stay within the station and meet your friends
in there, then for the time being at least I think you'd get charged
for a Shepherd's Bush to Camden Road journey even if you touched on an
interchange validator within the station - indeed I'd recommend doing
just that, as it would ensure that you were legit for your journey
back west to Camden Rd on the NLL.


The problem over the Xmas S. Ruislip - *Clapham Junction *route was
due to incorrectly configured gates at *Shepherd's Bush *LO ( so I was
told). I got charged separately for both SR - SB (LU) and SB(LO) - CJ,
£1.00 + £1.00 instead of just £1.00 for the entire *SR-CJ journey..


That would indeed explain it. It shouldn't really happen in the first
place, of course.

One hopes that there won't be too many other errors like this when
Oyster PAYG is rolled out across the whole of National Rail in London
- it's important to get it right, preferably first time, or passengers
will end up paying too much and losing confidence in the system. The
problem is that it can't really be trialled out in the real world -
once the Oyster readers at NR stations are switched on, they've all
just got to work from the get-go.


Thanks again !


No worries.

Mizter T February 16th 09 02:16 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

MIG wrote:

On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:

wrote:
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the most excellent and very useful information.
Some of the fare & journey calculations seem to have changed perhaps
for the better or worse ? Expanding on what Mizter T said about
changing at Willesden J and touching out and then in again. Well, in
the past I have touched out and then back in again in quick
succession, at several different stations and this has not registered
on my card, e.g. last year I travelled from Camden Road - Stratford
( via LO) , touched out at Stratford for less than 5 minutes, met a
friend, touched in again and we both continued on to Mile End.
Inspection of my Oyster usage showed that I was charged for Camden
Road - Mile End journey, with no reference to Stratford.


Question - when you say you touched-out and back in at Stratford last
year, did you go all the way outside through the main gateline and out
on to the street outside the station entrance?

In this situation there is a difference between touching-out/in on the
standalone Oyster validators that are *within* Stratford station (i.e.
within the fare paid area inside the gates) and leaving and then re-
entering the station through the gates. It sounds to me as though you
may have just used one of these 'interchange validators' (more on this
later).


Hence, on
Saturday's journey I thought perhaps such quick touching out and back
in to try to force a z2-6 cap (at both Willesden J and Stratford)
would not count as a journey. I have read other examples where
passengers have quickly got out of a station to pick up some dry
cleaning or shopping, touched back in again within a space of 0-15
mins and not been charged for this break of journey nor has this break
been registered /noted on their Oyster usage.


OK. My understanding is that if you exit and then re-enter *the same
station* *through an automatic gate* then this will finish your
previous journey and start a new journey.

At stations where there are no gates, just standalone Oyster
validators, the situation might be different. At these stations it
*might possibly* be the case that if you touch-out and then touch-in
after a short space of time your journey is considered as continuing.
This basically depends on how the standalone Oyster validators are
configured - they can either be set up to simply end journeys when
they detect there is an 'open journey' on the card (i.e. it has been
touched-in somewhere else), or if no existing journey is detected then
they will start a new journey. (This is how most of the standalone
Oyster validators work at DLR stations - plus I think it's how they're
generally set up at other ungated stations which aren't significant
interchange points.)

Otherwise they can be set as 'interchange validators' - touching-in on
these doesn't finish a journey that has already started, instead it
tells the card that the journey may be finished, or it may carry on to
somewhere else. In other words if you don't touch-out somewhere else
in the next hour or two then the journey will be considered as having
finished, if you do touch-out somewhere else then the journey will be
extended on to that next station.

And because of the way the system is currently set up, it means that
you will only be charged for the journey between your starting station
and your ultimate destination station - hence the fact that you got
charged for a direct Camden Road to Mile End journey, despite the fact
that you touched on a standalone Oyster validators in Stratford
station (at least that's what I'm assuming you did - right?).
Thankfully though this situation looks likely to change in the near
future which will mean that Oyster will be capable of charging cheaper
fares for cheaper routes.

Another situation where one might well only get charged for one
journey despite going off and doing other things in between is where a
person exits from one station, let's say Shepherd's Bush (Central
line), goes and does there stuff (returning some hideous pink and lime
green footwear bought during a lapse of taste at a shop in Westfield),
and then goes and gets on a train from Shepherd's Bush LO/ WLL
station. As the two Shepherd's Bush stations are tied together as an
out-of-station interchange (OSI, or 'outerchange' as we often
colloquially call them on here) then the system will consider the
previous journey as being continued.


The thing about this is that the Shepherds Bushes seem to be treated
not as an outerchange but as a more-like-Stratford situation where
it's all one station. The poster seems to have been charged for
travelling via the Central Line despite entering a building from which
it isn't possible to access the Central Line.


I absolutely understand what you're saying - however I wonder if this
is currently an inevitable by-product of OSIs/ outerchanges. I don't
know, that's just speculation, but it would provide an explanation.


If the Shepherds Bushes were set up as separate stations with an
outerchange, you'd think he'd be charged the non-zone 1 fare.


I'm just wondering whether that's possible - see above. Perhaps it is
and this situation is simply the result of sloppy programming. I don't
know enough about the machinations behind it to say, unfortunately.

Hopefully the PAYG system upgrade should sort out stuff like this. As
you can see, I'm placing a lot of hope in that, so it had better
deliver! We shall see, hopefully sooner rather than later - but I'd
prefer later if it meant that kinks were going to be ironed out before
it went live. The thing is that it's all enmeshed with the rollout of
PAYG across NR in London - 'oysterisation' as Boris would put it - so
there's a lot of (political) pressure for it to happen asap. If the
TOCs are still bickering about who gets what revenue for which
journeys then I imagine it could make working on the finer details of
the PAYG upgrade challenging - I'd think the system's planners would
want the position of all the chess pieces decided upon so they could
plan around them, if they keep moving this might well make life more
difficult for them.

MIG February 16th 09 02:46 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
On 16 Feb, 15:16, Mizter T wrote:
MIG wrote:
On 16 Feb, 13:17, Mizter T wrote:


wrote:
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the most excellent and very useful information.


[email protected] February 16th 09 04:10 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

This suggests that there is something different about the Shepherds
Bushes whereby they are treated as a single station.


That may be true for oyster but it's not true for paper tickets as I
found out once.
I bought a ticket from the LO machine for a journey to Stansted
Airport, which said
Shepherds Bush LO (or something to that effect, possibly "NR") and had
a "+" sign.
So I then crossed the road to the tube station to get the central
line. The gate validator didn't let me in,
and on showing the ticket to the man he said that the "+" meant I
could use the ticket on the tube only
if I had already got on a real train that started at Shepherds Bush
LO.

I suggested that to abide by the rules I should take a train to West
Brompton and change at Ealing Broadway to get to the other side of the
gate, to which he agreed.

Mizter T February 16th 09 04:17 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

MIG wrote:

On 16 Feb, 15:16, Mizter T wrote:
MIG wrote:


[big snip]

The thing about this is that the Shepherds Bushes seem to be treated
not as an outerchange but as a more-like-Stratford situation where
it's all one station. *The poster seems to have been charged for
travelling via the Central Line despite entering a building from which
it isn't possible to access the Central Line.


I absolutely understand what you're saying - however I wonder if this
is currently an inevitable by-product of OSIs/ outerchanges. I don't
know, that's just speculation, but it would provide an explanation.


If the Shepherds Bushes were set up as separate stations with an
outerchange, you'd think he'd be charged the non-zone 1 fare.


I'm just wondering whether that's possible - see above. Perhaps it is
and this situation is simply the result of sloppy programming. I don't
know enough about the machinations behind it to say, unfortunately.



Just done an interesting experiment on these lines with the TfL Fare
Finder.

Hackney Central/Hackney downs is an outerchange.

The Fare Finder price from Hackney Central to Lewisham is not priced
via zone 1.

The Fare Finder price from Hackney Downs to Lewisham is priced via
zone 1.

This suggests that despite being a valid outerchange for continuing
journeys (eg Cambridge Heath to Homerton*), the two outerchange
stations are treated differently with respect to journeys that start
there, presumably because if you enter Hackney Downs you can only
reach Lewisham via zone 1.


Good work MIG - I had half-thought that one could perhaps try and
narrow things down like that, but my brain had turned to oysterised
mush by that point! The Hackney to Lewisham example seems to be a
particularly good one as it's really clear cut.


This suggests that there is something different about the Shepherds
Bushes whereby they are treated as a single station.


Perhaps the Oyster people have gone for the easier route in doing
that, I dunno. It does seem pretty daft that a Shepherd's Bush (LO/
WLL) to Stratford journey is charged as being via z1 when it seems
pretty obvious that a passenger would be going via the WLL and NLL.
Unless...

Perhaps there's some idea that a passenger might go via Kensington
Olympia or West Brompton and then the District line through central
London. This would of course be rather nuts as the blindingly obvious
route via central London is direct along the District line. OK, there
might be a few people who're rather claustrophobic or whatever and
wish to do as much of the journey on 'big' District line trains, or
indeed people going an unusual route so as to travel some of the way
with others, but the system's assumptions on the route taken obviously
cannot be made on this basis!

I'm guessing that the assumed routes were/are initially generated by a
computer, a process which perhaps involves it it quizzing the journey
planner as to what the quickest route is, and this forms the basis of
the assumed routes, though is then subject to human involvement in
finessing the results. But perhaps the computer decided that folk
using Shepherd's Bush going to Stratford would actually choose to
travel via Kensington Olympia/ West Brompton and decided to charge
them for so doing, and no human caught this in time?

The other possible explanation I'd though of is that the assumed
routes for both Shepherd's Bushes were deemed to be the same - but
this notion can easily be rubbished by querying the fares finder again
- the fares from Clapham Junction to Shepherd's Bush LU are z1&2
fares, whilst CJ to Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) is just a zone 2 fare.

Hmm. It seems possible that this issue is the result of sloppy
assumptions over the assumed routes - if so, that's a bit of a shame.
Getting on to Oyster customer service centre about this might be a
good idea, as it could increase the chances of it being dealt with.
I'd actually be tempted to write a very short letter asking why
Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford journeys are being charged like
this.

The Oyster CSC contact details are he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/contact/4417.a...Service_Centre


*My nemesis.


Ha ha! Wrong side of the tracks... or perhaps it's simply the wrong
side of the Thames! ;-)

Mizter T February 16th 09 04:29 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

On 16 Feb, 17:10, wrote:

This suggests that there is something different about the Shepherds
Bushes whereby they are treated as a single station.


That may be true for oyster but it's not true for paper tickets as
I found out once. I bought a ticket from the LO machine for a
journey to Stansted Airport, which said Shepherds Bush LO
(or something to that effect, possibly "NR") and had a "+" sign.
So I then crossed the road to the tube station to get the central
line. The gate validator didn't let me in, and on showing the ticket
to the man he said that the "+" meant I could use the ticket on
the tube only if I had already got on a real train that started at
Shepherds Bush LO.

I suggested that to abide by the rules I should take a train to
West Brompton and change at Ealing Broadway to get to the
other side of the gate, to which he agreed.


The "+" sign (actually a Maltese Cross, or a dagger, or is it both or
neither?) actually denotes that the ticket can be used for cross-
London transfer by Tube between a designated list of stations, and
Shepherd's Bush is not one of them (though perhaps it should be).

The list of stations is on this page - click on the "show Station
List" link:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/london/

To comply with the rules you would have needed to go from Shepherd's
Bush on a WLL train and interchange at Kensington Olympia or West
Brompton on to the Underground network.

I think I would have just let you through!

Interesting point about Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) not being on that
list though. Perhaps it will be in the future, indeed perhaps it's
omitted from the present list because no-one was quite sure about when
the station would actually open and amending the list is a lengthy
process.

[email protected] February 16th 09 04:40 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
On 16 Feb, 17:17, Mizter T wrote:

Getting on to Oyster customer service centre about this might be a
good idea, as it could increase the chances of it being dealt with.
I'd actually be tempted to write a very short letter asking why
Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford journeys are being charged like
this.

The Oyster CSC contact details are hehttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/contact/4417.a...Service_Centre


Mizter T,
I emailed Customer Services last Wednesday asking them about my
forthcoming journey on the Saturday and whether I would be entitled to
the z2-6 cap if travelling from Shepherd's Bush ( nll/wll/lo) and
thereby avoiding z1. Unfortunately, it was wishful thinking that I
would get a reply by Saturday morning. However, I've sent them another
email regarding Saturday's journeys and asked if I am entitled to any
refund. Having not transgressed into z1 I personally feel that I do
have a good case, however, I fear that carefully worded rules /
conditions of travel in the Oyster fares "handbook" will conspire
against me !

regards
cs

[email protected] February 16th 09 04:56 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

I think I would have just let you through!


By a curious coincidence, he did leave the gate momentarily unattended
shortly after that conversation.

Mizter T February 16th 09 05:09 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

On 16 Feb, 17:40, wrote:

On 16 Feb, 17:17, Mizter T wrote:

Getting on to Oyster customer service centre about this might be a
good idea, as it could increase the chances of it being dealt with.
I'd actually be tempted to write a very short letter asking why
Shepherd's Bush (LO/ WLL) to Stratford journeys are being charged like
this.


The Oyster CSC contact details are he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/contact/4417.a...Service_Centre


Mizter T,
I emailed Customer Services last Wednesday asking them about my
forthcoming journey on the Saturday and whether I would be entitled to
the z2-6 cap if travelling from Shepherd's Bush ( nll/wll/lo) and
thereby avoiding z1. Unfortunately, it was wishful thinking that *I
would get a reply by Saturday morning. However, I've sent them another
email regarding Saturday's journeys and asked if I am entitled to any
refund. Having not transgressed into z1 I personally feel that I do
have a good case, however, I fear that carefully worded rules /
conditions of travel in the *Oyster fares "handbook" will conspire
against me !


The crucial phrase is on page 5 of the TfL Fares and tickets booklet:
"Some journeys are defined as requiring travel via Zone 1 and will be
charged and capped accordingly, irrespective of the actual route
taken."

In other words, they've got their back covered on this issue!

My thinking was less about the possibility of getting you and others a
refund each time this happens, more about getting TfL to change the
system so it doesn't happen at all.

I'd think that until the upcoming comprehensive PAYG system upgrade
there will continue to be a problem about a Greenford to Stratford
journey. However, it seems to me that the problem of a Shepherd's Bush
(LO/ WLL) to Stratford journey being assumed to be via-z1 could be
rectified fairly easily.

However it couldn't be done overnight. I think it would have to be
included in the next set of data sent out as an update across the
Oyster system. The question is whether the next update is in fact the
major PAYG system upgrade (which AIUI is essentially being so the
whole system can cope with the start of Oyster PAYG acceptance across
NR in London).

Re the letter thing - I have this notion that letters sometimes
receive better consideration than electronic communications. However,
if you were to actually pursue a refund then this might get the wheels
turning faster.

That said, it might be a known issue and already on the list to be
dealt with. I must admit I'd be rather gobsmacked if they actually
replied to you and said this though!


----------
[1] TfL Fares and tickets booklet (PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...s-zones1-6.pdf

Mizter T February 16th 09 05:10 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 

On 16 Feb, 17:56, wrote:
I think I would have just let you through!


By a curious coincidence, he did leave the gate momentarily unattended
shortly after that conversation.


Nice!

[email protected] February 16th 09 06:25 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
Mizter T,
I've been reading of a similar situation / journey in which the z2-6
cap was applied to a via Z1 journey

Ruislip (z5 met line) - Snaresbrook (z4 central line)

The journey / fare is listed as via z1.

However, the passenger went

Ruislip ---(met line) --- Finchley Rd (OOSI) Finchley Rd & Frognal
---(LO)-- Stratford --(cent line) -- Snaresbrook

and returned to Ruislip the same way. His fare for the journey was
capped at £2.80 ( previous z2-6 cap). £2-00 outward and £0.80 return.
So obviously the system DID recognise the fact that there was no
transgression into Z1 even though Ruislip - Snaresbrook is a via Z1
fare / journey.
Perhaps the trigger was the Finchley Rd + Frognal -- Snaresbrook
stretch which is a non z1 journey/ fare.
You will get charged the same single fare for this journey
irrespective of which route you take ( via z1 or via Finchley Rd &
Frognal) but the benefit of the cap comes in if your outward travel
and return is via the NLL line. It is clear that non z1 travel is
recognised by the system on this route.
TFL need to apply similar methods to our dilemma. Touching in at
Shepherd's Bush LO should alert the system that I am making a non z1
journey. That way Greenford - Stratford via Z1 OR via NLL/WLL will
still remain £2.20 off peak, but travelling exclusively via NLL/WLL
will allow for the z2-6 cap.

regards
cs








MIG February 16th 09 07:27 PM

Oyster travel cap (z2-6 ) if travel is within 2-6 but fare is via
 
On Feb 16, 5:17*pm, Mizter T wrote:
MIG wrote:
On 16 Feb, 15:16, Mizter T wrote:
MIG wrote:


[big snip]


The thing about this is that the Shepherds Bushes seem to be treated
not as an outerchange but as a more-like-Stratford situation where
it's all one station. *The poster seems to have been charged for
travelling via the Central Line despite entering a building from which
it isn't possible to access the Central Line.


I absolutely understand what you're saying - however I wonder if this
is currently an inevitable by-product of OSIs/ outerchanges. I don't
know, that's just speculation, but it would provide an explanation.


If the Shepherds Bushes were set up as separate stations with an
outerchange, you'd think he'd be charged the non-zone 1 fare.


I'm just wondering whether that's possible - see above. Perhaps it is
and this situation is simply the result of sloppy programming. I don't
know enough about the machinations behind it to say, unfortunately.


Just done an interesting experiment on these lines with the TfL Fare
Finder.


Hackney Central/Hackney downs is an outerchange.


The Fare Finder price from Hackney Central to Lewisham is not priced
via zone 1.


The Fare Finder price from Hackney Downs to Lewisham is priced via
zone 1.


This suggests that despite being a valid outerchange for continuing
journeys (eg Cambridge Heath to Homerton*), the two outerchange
stations are treated differently with respect to journeys that start
there, presumably because if you enter Hackney Downs you can only
reach Lewisham via zone 1.


Good work MIG -


This behaviour was completely out of character m'lud ...


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