Dartford - Oyster fare....

[blakey1152]

Just noticed that it appears there is a fare for Oyster from Boundary zone 6 to Dartford in BRfares.

http://www.brfares.com/#!fares?orig=0072&dest=DFD

Its not valid for travel but does say Oyster Card required. I wonder if this in preparation for the proposed inclusion of Dartford in the Oyster scheme.

Blakey

 

[thebigcheese]

Oh good spot. Also showing up for London Terminals to Dartford coming in at £4.00 for an off-peak single compared to £3.70 for a zone 1 to 6 journey so would guess you're right.

 

[MikeWh]

Very good spot indeed.

 

[Starmill]

Why is it cheaper? I thought the most Oyster ever did to the traditional fare structure was decrease the cost of singles so that they are half a return.

 

[MikeWh]

Why is it cheaper? I thought the most Oyster ever did to the traditional fare structure was decrease the cost of singles so that they are half a return.

Within London Oyster fares are pretty much guaranteed to be cheaper than paper equivalents. Outside zones 1-6 they will often be the same as paper, but, they have run out of zones within the Oyster system so new stations have to fit within an existing structure. As you've noticed, single fares are at most half the equivalent return because the system cannot work by remembering what journeys were made earlier and thus need to be turned into returns.

 

[Starmill]

Within London Oyster fares are pretty much guaranteed to be cheaper than paper equivalents. Outside zones 1-6 they will often be the same as paper, but, they have run out of zones within the Oyster system so new stations have to fit within an existing structure. As you've noticed, single fares are at most half the equivalent return because the system cannot work by remembering what journeys were made earlier and thus need to be turned into returns.

I see. But I'm curious as to if single fares within London on Oyster are cheaper than the paper equivalents used to be, when the range of paper tickets that was replaced by Oyster used to be available, adjusting for inflation and the 'Return Effect'.

 

[MikeWh]

I see. But I'm curious as to if single fares within London on Oyster are cheaper than the paper equivalents used to be, when the range of paper tickets that was replaced by Oyster used to be available, adjusting for inflation and the 'Return Effect'.

When the Oyster fares were first introduced on the late-adopting TOCs (the ones which had to be dragged kicking and screaming with sizeable bribes) the peak single fare was half the anytime return (or just under) and the off-peak single was similarly half the old off-peak return (or just under). One can only speculate what has happened to off-peak fares, but there is now a considerable gap between two peak singles and the current anytime return for many pairs. Eg CRY-LBG is £6.00 Oyster single and £13.60 Anytime return. Even better, the new all-day capping means that the most you'll pay in zones 1-6 is £11.70 per day.

 

[Matt E Raffles]

The MP for Dartford has had confirmation from Southeastern that Oyster will be extended there by the end of September:

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/dartford-set-for-oyster-cards-37903/

 

[JaJaWa]

The MP for Dartford has had confirmation from Southeastern that Oyster will be extended there by the end of September:

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/dartford-set-for-oyster-cards-37903/

The DfT has received the same confirmation from Govia's "TOCs" that operate to Gatwick Airport (Oyster will be valid there in September 2015).

Govia also plans to extend validity to Luton and Welwyn in the north but the migration of Oyster to a new system has fallen behind, however it's now looking possible that these extensions could be implemented anyway.

 

[34D]

At present, are there Oyster pads at dartford for freedom pass users?

If so, presumably these will just be enabled for all oyster & contactless users in Sep?

Is it known yet which TfL zone Dartford will be put in with?

 

[clagmonster]

BR Fares shows a £7.00 peak Oyster single between St. Pancras London Bridge and Dartford. I can't see any other £7.00 BR only singles from Zone 1 on https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/national-rail-adult-fares.pdf so presumably it is its own special little zone.

 

[thebigcheese]

They'll hopefully be card readers on the platform so I can hop on and off and stay on the same train. Travelling from Gravesend into London I normally jump on and off at Crayford as I found it's best way to get an off peak travelcard

 

[MikeWh]

At present, are there Oyster pads at dartford for freedom pass users?

If so, presumably these will just be enabled for all oyster & contactless users in Sep?

Is it known yet which TfL zone Dartford will be put in with?

No, there are no pads. Freedom Pass holders have to be let out at both Dartford and Swanley. This will be another benefit of the Oyster extension.

BR Fares shows a £7.00 peak Oyster single between St. Pancras and Dartford. I can't see any other £7.00 BR only singles from Zone 1 on https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/national-rail-adult-fares.pdf so presumably it is its own special little zone.

It will be a separate zone, but I doubt it will be on it's own. The fare from St Pancras may be a mixed mode one - it's unclear sometimes which fare is represented in the fares manual.

They'll hopefully be card readers on the platform so I can hop on and off and stay on the same train. Travelling from Gravesend into London I normally jump on and off at Crayford as I found it's best way to get an off peak travelcard

I think platform validators are unlikely. You might want to check combinations when the prices are confirmed as I expect the Dartford travelcard to be similar to it's current value.

 

[JaJaWa]

No, there are no pads. Freedom Pass holders have to be let out at both Dartford and Swanley. This will be another benefit of the Oyster extension.

Do you know why Freedom Passes can be used to these stations? It seems the residents of Dartford don't get the same benefits on their concessionary passes.

 

[MikeWh]

Do you know why Freedom Passes can be used to these stations? It seems the residents of Dartford don't get the same benefits on their concessionary passes.

I think it's historical. Dartford/Swanley are the nearest stations for some residents in the borough of Bexley.

 

[clagmonster]

It will be a separate zone, but I doubt it will be on it's own. The fare from St Pancras may be a mixed mode one - it's unclear sometimes which fare is represented in the fares manual.

Sorry, I meant London Bridge. I probably confused threads.

 

[34D]

No, there are no pads. Freedom Pass holders have to be let out at both Dartford and Swanley. This will be another benefit of the Oyster extension.


It will be a separate zone, but I doubt it will be on it's own. The fare from St Pancras may be a mixed mode one - it's unclear sometimes which fare is represented in the fares manual.



I think platform validators are unlikely. You might want to check combinations when the prices are confirmed as I expect the Dartford travelcard to be similar to it's current value.

Thanks Mike. For Dartford to St Pancras on oyster, this would of course be classic lines only and not going to gravesend for javelin.