Gatwick airport with zone 1-4 travelcard

[jbb]

I have an annual london zone 1-4 travelcard on oyster.
I need to get to gatwick airport from cental london next week on friday mid afternoon. What is the cheapest route? Should I just use my oyster card to pay or is there a better / cheaper ticker I can buy?

There seem to be so many options, and no information on how my travelcard affects this (as clearly I can travel part way on that).

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Romilly]

I think that you could just buy an anytime day single from the boundary of zone 4 to Gatwick Airport at £6.40. You could get that from a ticket office, or one of the select group of ticket vending machines that sells that type of ticket.

 

[takno]

I think that you could just buy an anytime day single from the boundary of zone 4 to Gatwick Airport at £6.40. You could get that from a ticket office, or one of the select group of ticket vending machines that sells that type of ticket.

You just get charged the extension if you tap in in central London and then out again at Gatwick don't you? Don't have a travelcard so I'm not sure

 

[methethpropbut]

Also make sure you have enough balance in the card before you get in, I think you can be Penalty Fared if you don't.

 

[MikeWh]

I have an annual london zone 1-4 travelcard on oyster.
I need to get to gatwick airport from cental london next week on friday mid afternoon. What is the cheapest route? Should I just use my oyster card to pay or is there a better / cheaper ticker I can buy?

As mentioned, you can buy a boundary zone 4 to Gatwick ticket. That combined with your travelcard allows you to travel on the Gatwick Express, but DO NOT TOUCH YOUR OYSTER ON PLATFORM 13/14 GATES.

If you want to use PAYG credit then just touch in at Victoria (or Blackfriars, London Bridge etc) and out at Gatwick Airport. Again, do not try to use platforms 13/14 at Victoria as the travelcard will be ignored and you'll be charged £19.80.

Final note of caution. If you need to come back (later or another day) you will need the full £8.10 (£14.20 0630-0930, 1600-1900) fare to London just to get into Gatwick Airport. With your travelcard you won't spend anywhere near that. It's not easy to get a refund until your travelcard expires because the Oyster card needs to be cancelled, unless you're going to use it later anyway.

 

[jbb]

As an update, we went to london bridge and got a fast thameslink from there to gatwick (as that side of london was more convenient than victoria for us). It changed £3 pay as you go credit on my oyster.

Going home we got thameslink to farringdon, and then changed to underground there and again it charged £3 pay as you go credit.

That doesn't seem to quite match any of the suggestions here.

 

[rmt4ever]

Also make sure you have enough balance in the card before you get in, I think you can be Penalty Fared if you don't.

Why? As long as you get a green on touch in surely that's fine?

 

[Joe Paxton]

As an update, we went to london bridge and got a fast thameslink from there to gatwick (as that side of london was more convenient than victoria for us). It changed £3 pay as you go credit on my oyster.

Going home we got thameslink to farringdon, and then changed to underground there and again it charged £3 pay as you go credit.

That doesn't seem to quite match any of the suggestions here.

Though it looks right to me - the Oyster/contactless fare from zone 5 (i.e. East Croydon or South Croydon) to Gatwick is £3 off-peak, £5.20 peak. Therefore you were charged the correct 'excess' from your Oyster PAYG credit.

 

[GW43125]

Why? As long as you get a green on touch in surely that's fine?

It should be, yes. If you go over it'll send you negative when you touch out then it just won't let you back in.

 

[matt_world2004]

Though it looks right to me - the Oyster/contactless fare from zone 5 (i.e. East Croydon or South Croydon) to Gatwick is £3 off-peak, £5.20 peak. Therefore you were charged the correct 'excess' from your Oyster PAYG credit.

It doesnt do boundary oyster charges from victoria because of gatwick express.

 

[Joe Paxton]

It doesnt do boundary oyster charges from victoria because of gatwick express.

That's only the case if you are travelling on Gatwick Express (i.e. you pass through the gates for platforms 13 & 14 at Victoria used by GatEx).

Oyster extension charging works as normal if you travel in Southern trains from the other platforms at Victoria to Gatwick or vice versa.