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Alternatives to "Not Gatwick Express" tickets to/from Gatwick Airport to/from "London Terminals"

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TurbostarFan

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I would like to know if there are any alternatives to purchasing a "Not Gatwick Express" ticket to/from "London Terminals" apart from an "Any Permitted" ticket which costs an arm and a leg. My plan is to travel on a GTR service other than a Gatwick Express service. I don't want to use London Bridge, although I am aware that it is a London Terminal station.
 
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TFN

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There's the London Thameslink option which gives access to St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, London Bridge and Elephant & Castle stations. Doesn't help if you want Victoria or Waterloo etc but the London Thameslink ticket is quite useful
 

infobleep

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Would Oyster card or contactless be an option? Is it a one off journey you are making?
 

Iggy12a

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If you do want to purchase a ticket, then splitting at East Croydon gives a good saving.
Gatwick to East Croydon is £5.40 single.
East Croydon to London Terminals is £6.60 or East Croydon to Victoria is £6.30.
 

andrewkeith5

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It knows you used the oyster readers at the Gatwick Express platforms at Victoria and charges more.

Well, being pedantic it charges you the Gatwick Express fare then refunds you if you go through a gate line other than 13/14 at Victoria....

It would be good to know why you feel the need to ask, OP. The Not Gatwick Express ticket is the ticket you want if you want to use the Southern service to Victoria?

The only other option is to use London Thameslink or Not Underground routed tickets to the Thameslink stations as has been mentioned.
 

Haywain

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Well, being pedantic it charges you the Gatwick Express fare then refunds you if you go through a gate line other than 13/14 at Victoria....
Being pedantic, doesn't that depend on which way you're going?
 

TurbostarFan

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Would Oyster card or contactless be an option? Is it a one off journey you are making?
An Oyster card would be an option but I want to check if a paper ticket would be a better option first.
It is a one off journey but a return one.
 

infobleep

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Well, being pedantic it charges you the Gatwick Express fare then refunds you if you go through a gate line other than 13/14 at Victoria....

It would be good to know why you feel the need to ask, OP. The Not Gatwick Express ticket is the ticket you want if you want to use the Southern service to Victoria?

The only other option is to use London Thameslink or Not Underground routed tickets to the Thameslink stations as has been mentioned.
I believe the OP is going from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, so they would be touching in on platform 13 and 14, rather than out.

Edit: Actually they said to and from. So to Victoria you are correct.

From Victoria if they were to be charged the Any permitted, they would get that as soon as they touched in I believe.
 

TurbostarFan

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I believe the OP is going from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, so they would be touching in on platform 13 and 14, rather than out.

Edit: Actually they said to and from. So to Victoria you are correct.

From Victoria if they were to be charged the Any permitted, they would get that as soon as they touched in I believe.
I'm actually suggesting a return journey from Victoria to Gatwick Airport.
 

MikeWh

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Well, being pedantic it charges you the Gatwick Express fare then refunds you if you go through a gate line other than 13/14 at Victoria....
I'm afraid I can't agree with this statement. At Gatwick Airport you are charged the standard fare to Victoria (£15.10/£8.30). If you touch out at platforms 13/14 the charge will be increased to £19.80. Only Victoria P13/14 gates charge £19.80 on entry.
I'm actually suggesting a return journey from Victoria to Gatwick Airport.
If you use Oyster or contactless and don't use the P13/14 gates then you'll be charged £8.30 each way off-peak or £15.10 peak. If things are working normally you won't be able to use Gatwick Express without using the P13/14 gates. Two off-peak Oyster singles are 20p cheaper than the off-peak day return. If you travel at peak times then a paper ticket may well be cheaper.
 

TurbostarFan

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I have found one: a Stratford International to Gatwick Airport return ticket at £16.50 (with a railcard discount). It is "Any Permitted" so is valid on the underground to Victoria and onboard the Gatwick Express.
 

MikeWh

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I have found one: a Stratford International to Gatwick Airport return ticket at £16.50 (with a railcard discount). It is "Any Permitted" so is valid on the underground to Victoria and onboard the Gatwick Express.
Well if you get your railcard added to the Oyster card then the normal off-peak fare from Victoria to Gatwick reduces to £5.50 each way.
 

Tunnel Bore

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Well, being pedantic it charges you the Gatwick Express fare then refunds you if you go through a gate line other than 13/14 at Victoria....

I've wonder about this: the occasional Gat Ex is routed into platforms 15-19 (and balancing service departs from there of course). Is this just written off as foregone income by GTR? If it wasn't planned but for operational convenience on the day, does Nr have to compensation for lost income.

While I'm here: just how daft is the ticket check on Gat Ex in standard class? Anyone without a ticket (perhaps starting from un un-gated station south of Gatwick) only has to say that they used a contactless bank card. Is it only about catching those with "Not Gat Ex", "Thameslink-only" tickets? But they won't be able to get through the gates at 13/14.
 

Mutant Lemming

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It doesn't. Oyster and contactless are standard class only and are not valid in first class.

With the extension of oyster further out into more distant territory is a first class oyster on the cards or are those willing to pay a premium for first class travel going to be denied the convenience?
 

JonathanH

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Anyone without a ticket (perhaps starting from un un-gated station south of Gatwick) only has to say that they used a contactless bank card.

The revenue protection person will have a reader. Whilst you can just offer a contactless card and they will accept it as valid for travel, someone who hasn't touched in will find a penalty fare deducted from their account when they next check their bank statement.

With contactless the work of the revenue protection person is just to ensure that the contactless card is compliant. The back office system checks the validity of the payment for the journey.
 

JonathanH

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With the extension of oyster further out into more distant territory is a first class oyster on the cards or are those willing to pay a premium for first class travel going to be denied the convenience?

They might just remove first class.
 

paddington

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The revenue protection person will have a reader. Whilst you can just offer a contactless card and they will accept it as valid for travel, someone who hasn't touched in will find a penalty fare deducted from their account when they next check their bank statement.

No, they will find a maximum fare charged.

Someone like ForTheLoveOf may be able to elaborate on how it is not appropriate to charge a penalty fare in this way.
 

maniacmartin

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If you're travelling from Anglia, I'd advise changing at Stratford for the Jubilee line to London Bridge. It's likely to be faster than going via Victoria
 

ForTheLoveOf

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No, they will find a maximum fare charged.

Someone like ForTheLoveOf may be able to elaborate on how it is not appropriate to charge a penalty fare in this way.
There are numerous reasons why a Penalty Fare might not be appropriate; that being said, I don't see anything fundamentally wrong with charging a Penalty Fare through the initial inspection reader tap. What would need to be done is to do it in the same way that it works for Oyster, but I doubt this is coming any time soon because it requires a lot more collaboration with the scheme issuers (Visa, Mastercard etc.) and the banks/lenders.

It probably isn't practicable to develop a solution in the short term, and the blocking of cards after three non-touch ins is probably about the best alternative arrangement they can hope for.
 

mmh

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If the revenue from providing First Class makes if financially viable then why not install a first class supplement card reader in or at the entrance to first class areas?

Choosing to upgrade to first class after boarding a train on the Brighton line? Nobody would do that because passengers can then the first class. Nick your own antimacassar and put it on the seat if you want the experience.

First class only exists on Southern and Gatwick Express for season ticket holders. Nobody who's paid for it once would ever do so again unless they're really daft. Oyster being standard class only is a complete irrelevance on this route.
 

Mutant Lemming

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Choosing to upgrade to first class after boarding a train on the Brighton line? Nobody would do that because passengers can then the first class. Nick your own antimacassar and put it on the seat if you want the experience.

First class only exists on Southern and Gatwick Express for season ticket holders. Nobody who's paid for it once would ever do so again unless they're really daft. Oyster being standard class only is a complete irrelevance on this route.

I travelled first class to Balcombe on Saturday - had more space and a table
 

Mutant Lemming

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I had a feeling you were trolling, now I'm pretty certain you are.

Kind of depends on your definition of it - I travelled first from St.Pancras to Balcombe last Saturday (with a valid ticket). I could have used a PAYG oystercard for the St.P to Gatwick section and that is what started me wondering about using a PAYG Oystercard and travelling first. Youre comment "Oyster being standard class only is a complete irrelevance on this route" is not really the case when you factor in Thameslink.
Still anyhow if in doubt just call someone a troll - have been called worse as I have no doubt you have.
 
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