Crews Hill Travelcard Query

[Gathursty]

According to the Internet, Crews Hill is both unstaffed and without a ticket machine.

I'm considering the 0520 service into Moorgate. I require a Travelcard. What is the correct thing to do as the train approaches?

I'm from Wigan so am familiar with paying on the train in such a circumstance, but in London, isn't everything DOO? I wouldn't like to have a chat with an RPI at 6am in Moorgate at the wrong side of the ticket gate.

 

[Ianno87]

It's in Travelcard Zone 6, so could you use Oyster or a Contactless Debit/Credit card for your journeys instead?

 

[GatwickDepress]

Great Northern services are all DOO so the first opportunity to pay is at Moorgate. Explain it to the gateline staff and they should let you through.

Alternately you could use Oyster from Crews Hill, buy a ticket in advance at a booking office, or book online and collect from a ticket machine at a different station.

 

[crehld]

It's in Travelcard Zone 6, so could you use Oyster or a Contactless Debit/Credit card for your journeys instead?

If Gathursty wants a travelcard (I'm assuming he's after a paper one) then using Oyster would add an unnecessary expense. As GatwickDepress suggests the only viable options which do not incur a needless additional expense are to either simply board the train and buy at the first available opportunity at Moorgate, or buy the travelcard in advance.

Worth pointing out that the NRE pages (if you've used these) can be out of date, so there may well be facilities in existence. But to be quite frank I'm astonished that a station within the London zones with 200,000 passengers a year has no facilities whatsoever.

 

[MikeWh]

But to be quite frank I'm astonished that a station within the London zones with 200,000 passengers a year has no facilities whatsoever.

It's in the middle of nowhere - almost. It just happens to be the first station within zone 6 so probably attracts a lot of commuters. I understand anything which holds money gets vandalised quite quickly.

 

[Gathursty]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago which gave me the conclusion that for bashing in the London area, a Travelcard is more appropriate than an Oystercard.

I probably will be using Stratford as a base but I noticed Crews Hill was by the M25 and got curious.

I could avoid hassle altogether by buying an all Zones Travelcard the day before (I think I can do this...) in Wigan.

 

[crehld]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago which gave me the conclusion that for bashing in the London area, a Travelcard is more appropriate than an Oystercard.

I probably will be using Stratford as a base but I noticed Crews Hill was by the M25 and got curious.

I could avoid hassle altogether by buying an all Zones Travelcard the day before (I think I can do this...) in Wigan.

Yes, if you're on the bash and going to make lots of short journeys without any long gaps between them then a paper travel card is the way to go - it'll save a lot of hassle with out of station interchanges and maximum journey times (Mike's excellent website explains all).

 

[paddington]

How are you getting to Crews Hill at 0520?

It's unlikely that there will be an RPI at Moorgate at 0600.

It's more likely that the barriers will be open (I'd say 25% chance)

 

[Clip]

If Gathursty wants a travelcard (I'm assuming he's after a paper one) then using Oyster would add an unnecessary expense. As GatwickDepress suggests the only viable options which do not incur a needless additional expense are to either simply board the train and buy at the first available opportunity at Moorgate, or buy the travelcard in advance.

Worth pointing out that the NRE pages (if you've used these) can be out of date, so there may well be facilities in existence. But to be quite frank I'm astonished that a station within the London zones with 200,000 passengers a year has no facilities whatsoever.

The poster you quoted using contactless card which you failed to address which then can also be used as a tc without any of the unessecary expense that you claimed

 

[MikeWh]

The poster you quoted using contactless card which you failed to address which then can also be used as a tc without any of the unessecary expense that you claimed

Except the OP really wants a travelcard. He doesn't want to use Oyster or contactless because of the difficulties which may be encountered by making lots of journeys, either exceeding maximum journey time if he forgets to leave the system regularly, or having two or more journeys joined by OSIs and again falling foul of MJTs.

 

[Gathursty]

How are you getting to Crews Hill at 0520?

Driving down the evening before to a nearby friends who is tolerant of my train exploits.

 

[gray1404]

As far as I can see, there are no ticket issuing facilities at that station and it is not a PF station. So you can simply board and get a ticket at the first opportunity. An RPI could not issue you with a PF as you have come from that station.

I have just had a look on the Virgin Trains website (WC) and that will sell you the travelcard you need. You can collect that before travel from another station if you wish.

 

[crehld]

The poster you quoted using contactless card which you failed to address which then can also be used as a tc without any of the unessecary expense that you claimed

Gathusty wants to spend a day riding the trains around London, likely involving a number of short journeys without breaks between them. There are a number of situations where a paper travel card is better than using oyster or CPC, and this is one of them due to the nature of the oyster system which is really only designed to cope with single journeys. As I said this is explained in detail on Mike's excellent website:
http://www.oyster-rail.org.uk/when-not-to-use-oyster/

So of Gathursty buys a paper travel card for the day but also used oyster/CPC between Crews Hill and Moorgate the latter constitutes an unnecessary additional expense, given the paper travel card includes validity between Crews Hill and Moorgate.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Alternately you could .... book online and collect from a ticket machine at a different station.

Please remember when doing this that it is the passenger's responsibility to collect the ticket before boarding a train. A list of stations where tickets can be collected at any time is available when you book the ticket.

 

[Clip]

Except the OP really wants a travelcard. He doesn't want to use Oyster or contactless because of the difficulties which may be encountered by making lots of journeys, either exceeding maximum journey time if he forgets to leave the system regularly, or having two or more journeys joined by OSIs and again falling foul of MJTs.

Nowhere in the first post did they claim they 'really' wanted a TC which is why Ianno87 suggested both Oyster and contactless to which the reply at the time from crehld replied as they did saying Oyster would be an unnecessary expense ignoring the option of contactless. It appears it was only later that they confirmed that they wanted a paper TC but at that time the advice was correct and did not constitute any further expense as claimed by a claimed fares advisor as they had overlooked contactless, as I rightly pointed out.

 

[IanD]

Please remember when doing this that it is the passenger's responsibility to collect the ticket before boarding a train. A list of stations where tickets can be collected at any time is available when you book the ticket.

Crews Hill appears on this list of stations.

 

[PeterC]

Unless the OP can obtain a paper travelcard in advance he is stuck with using a contactless card for the initial journey from Crews Hill.

 

[crehld]

Nowhere in the first post did they claim they 'really' wanted a TC which is why Ianno87 suggested both Oyster and contactless to which the reply at the time from crehld replied as they did saying Oyster would be an unnecessary expense ignoring the option of contactless. It appears it was only later that they confirmed that they wanted a paper TC but at that time the advice was correct and did not constitute any further expense as claimed by a claimed fares advisor as they had overlooked contactless, as I rightly pointed out.

Gathursty was quite explicit in the opening post that he required a travelcard:

I require a Travelcard.

The advice to therefore purchase a travelcard if no facilities are available at Crews Hill at the first available opportunity at Moorgate, or to purchase one in advance, and further to avoid oyster or CPC was correct. It was also correct to assert that using oyster or CPC would add an unnecessary additional expense on top of the required travelcard, given said travelcard is valid between Crews Hill and Moorgate.

I apologise if I cannot express this point with greater clarity. And I further apologise if giving out correct and factual advice to save passengers avoiding paying for their journey twice offends you in any way.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Unless the OP can obtain a paper travelcard in advance he is stuck with using a contactless card for the initial journey from Crews Hill.

No. If there are no ticket issuing facilities at Crews Hill (something the OP has been advised to check when 'on the ground') then the OP can obtain a travelcard at the first available opportunity, which will probably be at Moorgate station. Purchasing a travelcard in advance is of course another option available.

 

[Hadders]

I know it doesn't really answer the question but wouldn't the OP be better off travelling from Cuffley or Gordon Hill. Admittedly a travelcard from Cuffley or Potters Bar is a £1.90 more but comes without potential hassle.

 

[crehld]

I know it doesn't really answer the question but wouldn't the OP be better off travelling from Cuffley or Gordon Hill. Admittedly a travelcard from Cuffley or Potters Bar is a £1.90 more but comes without potential hassle.

The OP has said they are going to purchase their travelcard in advance at Wigan, so I think there's no problem or scope for hassle.

 

[Ianno87]

Nowhere in the first post did they claim they 'really' wanted a TC which is why Ianno87 suggested both Oyster and contactless to which the reply at the time from crehld replied as they did saying Oyster would be an unnecessary expense ignoring the option of contactless. It appears it was only later that they confirmed that they wanted a paper TC but at that time the advice was correct and did not constitute any further expense as claimed by a claimed fares advisor as they had overlooked contactless, as I rightly pointed out.

Thank you. I suspected it was a possibility that the OP may have wanted a Travelcard specifically for bashing purposes, but that wasn't explicit in the first post - they may have just wanted to make a number of 'simple' journeys in the day making a Travelcard sufficient value for money.

Hence I was just making sure that the existence of Oyster/Contactless as an option had occured to them, particarly as they do not appear to be from anywhere near London (Smart Ticketing in Greater Manchester has barely progressed on from the 1980s GM Transport Clippercard)

I'll refrain from trying to be helpful in future if it just sends the thread into this forum's usual pointless bickering.

 

[crehld]

Thank you. I suspected it was a possibility that the OP may have wanted a Travelcard specifically for bashing purposes, but that wasn't explicit in the first post - they may have just wanted to make a number of 'simple' journeys in the day making a Travelcard sufficient value for money.

Hence I was just making sure that the existence of Oyster/Contactless as an option had occured to them, particarly as they do not appear to be from anywhere near London (Smart Ticketing in Greater Manchester has barely progressed on from the 1980s GM Transport Clippercard)

I'll refrain from trying to be helpful in future if it just sends the thread into this forum's usual pointless bickering.

I wasn't criticising / having a go at you at all (and there is no possible way my initial reply to you can be interpreted in this way whatsoever), and it was fine to raise the option of oyster / CPC as a possible option. But given Gathursty's explicitly stated requirement for a travelcard in his opening post...

I require a Travelcard.

... I merely pointed out Gathursty would be better off not using oyster / CPC if they would be using a travelcard for the day as it would be adding an unnecessary additional expense.

You are not alone in your frustration about pointless bickering on the forum, usually instigated by a small minority of posters who seemingly go out of their way to find something objectionable with even the most sound and sensible of advice or discussions.

 

[Hassocks5489]

My own lists of ticket issuing locations indicate that Crews Hill has not had a TVM since mid-2009, when a short-lived Shere FASTticket machine was removed (I think due to vandalism, as alluded to earlier).

 

[Hadders]

Unless the OP can obtain a paper travelcard in advance he is stuck with using a contactless card for the initial journey from Crews Hill.

That's incorrect. If there are no ticket issuing facilities when you start your journey then you can pay on board or at your destination.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Haven't been there recently, but the "Stations Made Easy" map on NRE shows that Crews Hill did have a TVM at one point, though on the day they went to take the photos it was out of service due to vandalism. The photo in question can be found here.

Parking wise, there are only 14 spaces in the car park, one of which is a Disabled bay, and whilst the station is physically close to the M25, it's about 3 miles from Junction 25.

 

[Ediswan]

Crews Hill appears on this list of stations.

How exactly would one collect a ticket from a station with no ticket office and no ticket machine ? This may be an error in that list.

 

[AlterEgo]

How exactly would one collect a ticket from a station with no ticket office and no ticket machine ? This may be an error in that list.

Sometimes it's an error with the list, sometimes it's an error with NRE. I don't know Crews Hill - does anyone know for definite if it has a TVM?

 

[PeterC]

That's incorrect. If there are no ticket issuing facilities when you start your journey then you can pay on board or at your destination.

Interesting point, where there is a facility to use PAYG and you have an appropriate card can you legally claim that there is "no ticket issuing facility"?

The OP's desire to go train spotting isn't relevant to this question.

As an aside and a fallback if the ticket can't be obtained in advance, if both Crews Hill journeys are off peak and he doesn't plan to go outside zone 4 otherwise, then, by rebooking at Finsbury Park the additional cost is a massive 30p

 

[Hadders]

Interesting point, where there is a facility to use PAYG and you have an appropriate card can you legally claim that there is "no ticket issuing facility"?

There is no compulsion to use Oyster or a Contactess Payment card. Cash is a perfectly valid form of payment and the railway must make arrangements for it to be accepted.

If the arrangements for passengers boarding at Crews Hill are to purchase on-board or at their destination then so be it.

Obviously in the real world GTR's RPIs might take a different view but that does not make them right and I would expect any formal action to be quickly dropped.

 

[IanD]

Parking wise, there are only 14 spaces in the car park, one of which is a Disabled bay, and whilst the station is physically close to the M25, it's about 3 miles from Junction 25.

520am unlikely to be full particularly if it's a Saturday.

Sometimes it's an error with the list, sometimes it's an error with NRE. I don't know Crews Hill - does anyone know for definite if it has a TVM?

Drove past yesterday about 7pm, would've checked if I'd known!

But if you're told by the vendor that can collect a ticket from a station then what are your rights if that turns out to be false? Remember it's "Ticket on Departure" not "Ticket two or three days before departure".