Chaps,
Normally I wouldn't dream of questionning the wisdom of either Mr Mike Wh or Mr Yorkie however can I ask them bith for an answer to a direct question:
You can of course question me
However I may not know the answer!
If our OP is found by an SWT RPI with an oyster card (validated at Victoria) on an up train between Hounslow and Waterloo (maybe found at Isleworth), are we certain that he wouldn't receive a penalty fare?
To be honest, I do not know exactly what information the RPI would be able to read. I understand they would see the card has been touched in. It would be logical to assume it would state the time it was touched in, and the location... but I do not know. Without that information, it is impossible to answer. With that information, we may still be guessing.
What if the touch in was four hours ago?
240 minutes... hmm, well, the touch in would have effectively expired because there would be no journey from Victoria that could result in a journey for which the
maximum journey time is within 240 minutes. Whether an RPI would be able to identify that, I do not know. What action the RPI could then take, I do not know.
In fact, I don't like the Hounslow as an example (due to the loop). May we consider instead touching in at Finsbury, touch out at Kings Cross, and go via Bowes Park (I've chosen Bowes Park as a station where one does not _have_ to go past oyster readers to change platform, whereas you do at Hadley Wood or Crews Hill (which were places I had originally written before changing my mind).
My
opinion is that if you have touched in, and are within the maximum journey time that is possible from the origin, then you should not have any problems, however that may or may not be the training given to RPIs.
With a travelcard (on oyster or paper) you can't go out of your zones..... Though of course the response to this I guess is that if one holds zones 3 and 4 travelcard oyster season and, wants to travel from Richmond to New Malden (both z4) the routes are either via Clapham (z2) or via Teddington (z6).
If you have a Travelcard held on Oyster, you may go out of your zones providing you have sufficient PAYG balance and have touched in.
Given that a travelcard season oyster holder doesn't need to touch in or out (when doing so in their zones)
Providing all travel is within the zones, yes.
I'd be interested to know how 'the system' would treat such a journey, and if (assuming it deems via Clapham and hence applies a PAYG charge) a travelcard season holder can legitimately not touch out at New Malden (it has barriers but two entrances, and the secondary one is usually left open and unstaffed) to avoid paying?
If you go outside the Zones on your Travelcard then you
must touch in & out, and failing to do so could cause a Penalty Fare to be charged if caught outside the zones for which the Travelcard covers.