Interrupted journeys

[LS-Colin]

Could a fellow member advise me what procedure is adopted for being charged the correct fare when a journey is broken due to engineering work etc. For example using an Oyster card/contactless payment Gidea Park-Liverpool Street on a Sunday with rail service suspended between Romford and Ilford. Passengers are advised to change at Romford onto replacement buses or route 86 bus to Stratford and recommence rail journey from there. Assuming you'd be slapping in at Gidea Park, slapping out at Romford, slapping on a route 86 (if not using replacement buses), slapping in at Stratford and finally slapping out at Liverpool Street! How does all this slapping equate to the intended 1 single journey (Gidea Park-Liverpool Street) rather than several individual (and more expensive) journeys? This sort of interrupted journey must be a very common practice over numerous parts of the London area rail system at weekends with regular engineering work blockages.

 

[yorkie]

Call the Oyster helpline on 03432221234

 

[CyrusWuff]

Guidance in the LU Traffic Circular says that those using Oyster PAYG will be charged the "appropriate fare" for the actual journey made in such cases, with no mention being made of refunds.

Of course, if TfL do refund the difference, that's great.

 

[island]

Funnily enough I made a variation on this journey today but I was using a paper ticket from Stratford London to Hockley.

Gates were in operation at Ilford and Romford but tickets were not being checked on the bus.

I expect the Oyster helpdesk would probably issue a manual refund if you pushed it.

 

[LS-Colin]

As other members answers show, unfortunately it is as I suspected. This is quite a serious achillies heel of how Oyster and Contacless payment fail to work in the passengers interest in such situations. They are obviously unable to meet the advantageous use of a paper ticket (except the passenger is charged more for a paper ticket). Naturally if you intend to do multiple journeys it wouldn't present such a problem as you'd be capped for a 1 day travelcard anyway. But for just 1 or 2 journeys involving engineering work disruptions and incurring numerous extra slaps the passenger is overcharged. You therefore have the inconvenience of having to contact the relevant operator(s) for a refund and incur all the difficulties that come with doing that. Given the amount of engineering work blockages over any given weekend, there must be thousands of people that are caught in this way, with the relevant operator(s) banking on people not taking the trouble for a refund. Naturally it is not in the TOCs financial interest to rectify the matter with any urgency - scandalous!

 

[Mojo]

Naturally it is not in the TOCs financial interest to rectify the matter with any urgency - scandalous!

This is true - although it does work both ways; when you travel on Rail Replacement Buses they are effectively free, as it is not possible to touch in/out and be charged the correct rate. I do believe that South West have installed standalone readers for buses at some stations; not sure if any other Tocs have done the same.

Of course, you are "hit" if you are doing a Replacement Bus that is sandwiched between two rail journeys.

 

[infobleep]

When using a rail replacement bus, is one meant to touch in at the station gates and red go to the bus, without going through the gate line? Or are you simply allowed a free journey.

I take it RPIs don't patrol rail replacement buses.

 

[Deerfold]

As far as I know if you're just doing an Underground journey with an RRB in the middle (and the work is planned) you should be charged the right amount (pleae correct me if I'm wrong on this one).

However this tends not to work with the TOCs - I don't know if the TOCs don't provide the information needed in time, if TfL don't have the staff time to put all the details in or if it's not possible for more complex journeys.

When using a rail replacement bus, is one meant to touch in at the station gates and red go to the bus, without going through the gate line? Or are you simply allowed a free journey.

I take it RPIs don't patrol rail replacement buses.

Outside of London you're certainly supposed to have a ticket - I have been checked entering an RRB at Leeds or Keighley (though only on a minority of journeys).

 

[CyrusWuff]

When using a rail replacement bus, is one meant to touch in at the station gates and red go to the bus, without going through the gate line? Or are you simply allowed a free journey.

It depends. When Chiltern run Amersham - Beaconsfield buses due to Met Line work, anyone wishing to use Oyster has to touch at Amersham as normal.

I take it RPIs don't patrol rail replacement buses.

I haven't seen any recently, but it's certainly been known to happen.