PRIV Oyster

[virgintrain1]

Hi is anyone able to give the latest advice on where best to get a NR only Priv discount on your Oyster card? E.g. can this now be done at Crossrail stations?

 

[sharpinf]

I had my last one done at Ealing Broadway, ticket office member used a staff menu on the concourse ticket machine to add it on

 

[Wallsendmag]

Kings Cross did mine ,eventually

 

[SargeNpton]

I always use the TfL information centre at St Pancras. Most of the counter staff there have years of experience.

 

[Mag_seven]

E.g. can this now be done at Crossrail stations?

yes according to RSTL:

NR Priv Discount on Oyster for non-safeguarded staff​

This news item applies only to non-safeguarded staff who entered rail service after 31 March 1996.

If you want to travel on National Rail services using Priv-rate on an Oyster card, take your Rail Staff Leisure Card to an Elizabeth line station. A member of staff will be able to set the NR only Priv discount on your Oyster card using a Ticket Vending Machine. Your Oyster card must be registered before staff can set the discount.

Only some TfL employees have the authority to do this. Please ask station staff to locate the member of staff who can assist.

31 May 2022

News

This page contains our important messages, most recent first.

www.raildeliverygroup.com

 

[Haywain]

Kings Cross did mine ,eventually

Not the same - you're safeguarded.

 

[Horizon22]

Elizabeth Line (TfL Rail) stations are your best bet. Ealing Broadway, West Ealing and Stratford were all helpful and easy to colleagues of mine over the past year. Some London terminals can do it too, but its very hit and miss.

 

[virgintrain1]

Thank you everyone. Please to say Paddington Elizabeth line station did it without issue!

 

[iphone76]

Thank you everyone. Please to say Paddington Elizabeth line station did it without issue!

This is good to know. I had murders getting a station on the East Side doing this last year. Good to see the new central section stations seem more willing to do this for when I need to renew in October.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Not the same - you're safeguarded.

Only one button different though isn't it

 

[Alex365Dash]

Only one button different though isn't it

Safeguarded (All Rail) Priv Oyster discounts can be set at Tube stations whilst non-safeguarded (NR only) Priv Oyster discounts can only be set at certain Elizabeth line stations - those throughout the core and stations managed by the Elizabeth line within the Oyster travel area (excludes Shenfield).

 

[Wallsendmag]

Safeguarded (All Rail) Priv Oyster discounts can be set at Tube stations whilst non-safeguarded (NR only) Priv Oyster discounts can only be set at certain Elizabeth line stations - those throughout the core and stations managed by the Elizabeth line within the Oyster travel area (excludes Shenfield).

Ah OK wasn't aware of that.

 

[virgintrain1]

Does anybody know the difference between NR only and All NR. Got to admit the staff member was slightly confused which one to apply.

 

[Watershed]

Does anybody know the difference between NR only and All NR. Got to admit the staff member was slightly confused which one to apply.

NR only does what it says on the tin, it only provides a discount on journeys priced on one of the NR or Overground fare scales (the Overground is part of National Rail, even though TfL don't want to publicly admit it).

There is no discount at all on "mixed mode" journeys, or ones priced on the LU/DLR scale.

So it can sometimes be cheaper to "split" by using an NR only discounted Oyster card for the NR portion of the journey, and then a separate undiscounted Oyster card (or contactless card/device) for the LU/DLR portion of the journey.

Otherwise the problem is that the OSI joins up the two "journeys" into one, despite this being more expensive than charging them separately. It's just one of those Oyster quirks.

Alternatively a paper ticket to somewhere with LU validity (e.g. the opposite side of London) can sometimes also be cheaper than the above split, but it depends on the exact journey you're making.

By contrast the All Rail discount provides a discount on all rail journeys as the name suggests. And this is therefore only available for safeguarded staff, or for non-safeguarded staff working for GTR, LNER and Eurostar.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Does anybody know the difference between NR only and All NR. Got to admit the staff member was slightly confused which one to apply.

NR Only is for Non-Safeguarded staff (i.e. those who joined on or after 1st April 1996).

Priv All is for Safeguarded staff, and also allows a Priv rate Travelcard Season to be loaded onto the card.

Priv All-N is similar, but doesn't allow a Travelcard Season discount.

For completeness, there's also Priv TfL Rail Only, which only gives a discount on TfL services (including London Overground and Crossrail), not all NR services in the zones.

 

[Mojo]

Does anybody know the difference between NR only and All NR. Got to admit the staff member was slightly confused which one to apply.

“All NR” is not an option. “NR Only” is only valid on NR services and is for non safeguarded staff. “All Rail” is for all services NR / LU / DLR / etc and is allowed for Safeguarded staff and their dependents, as well as non safeguarded GTR, LNER and Eurostar staff with appropriate entitlement card, there is also a “TfL Rail” discount for child dependents of non safeguarded LU or TfL staff, and an “All Rail-N” discount for spouse / partner of non safeguarded staff.

Safeguarded (All Rail) Priv Oyster discounts can be set at Tube stations whilst non-safeguarded (NR only) Priv Oyster discounts can only be set at certain Elizabeth line stations - those throughout the core and stations managed by the Elizabeth line within the Oyster travel area (excludes Shenfield).

The LU operated central stations are not supposed to apply this discount - those being Bond St (when it opens) to Whitechapel inclusive.

 

[Haywain]

for non-safeguarded staff working for GTR, LNER and Eurostar.

It’s only for some non-safeguarded LNER staff - those who reside in Greater London.

 

[Alex365Dash]

The LU operated central stations are not supposed to apply this discount - those being Bond St (when it opens) to Whitechapel inclusive.

I sit corrected!

 

[RJ]

Only one button different though isn't it

Staff at LU stations are not allowed to apply the NR Only discount.

 

[Haywain]

So it looks like we are still having to make a journey to one of a very limited and inconveniently located group of stations. And it isn’t entirely clear which they are.

 

[RJ]

So it looks like we are still having to make a journey to one of a very limited and inconveniently located group of stations. And it isn’t entirely clear which they are.

That's basically it - it is what it is! I find it's a bit an effort to make an annual trip to Stratford from deepest South London to do it but worth it to save a few quid a year!

 

[Haywain]

That's basically it - it is what it is! I find it's a bit an effort to make an annual trip to Stratford from deepest South London to do it but worth it to save a few quid a year!

The value in doing that probably depends on where you live and how much use you can make of the discount.

 

[DeparturesBeck]

When I enquired at Stratford, Brentwood and Harold Wood a couple of months ago the staff said they couldn't add priv to Oyster and I should ask at a tube station instead (which we know isn't permitted). At Romford the staff told me the reason they couldn't do it was due to a lack of union agreement on ticket office staff using the TVM's.

 

[RJ]

When I enquired at Stratford, Brentwood and Harold Wood a couple of months ago the staff said they couldn't add priv to Oyster and I should ask at a tube station instead (which we know isn't permitted). At Romford the staff told me the reason they couldn't do it was due to a lack of union agreement on ticket office staff using the TVM's.

The only way to overcome it is to feedback to the TOC who runs those ticket offices - they should be making sure everybody who should be able to offer that service is able to.

It would be so much easier if it could be done at London Underground stations, but I understand this has been stymied because there are concerns that that TOC staff will expect a discount on Underground services if they can get the discount loaded at an Underground station. So because of the people who have caused issues with that, everybody who wants the discount has to go on a goose chase to get it loaded, contending with the above kind of issues. However it's preferable to do this than not have the discount at all.

 

[Haywain]

The only way to overcome it is to feedback to the TOC who runs those ticket offices - they should be making sure everybody who should be able to offer that service is able to.

Perhaps also feedback to RSTL in the hope that they may also apply a bit of pressure in the right places.

 

[92002]

When I enquired at Stratford, Brentwood and Harold Wood a couple of months ago the staff said they couldn't add priv to Oyster and I should ask at a tube station instead (which we know isn't permitted). At Romford the staff told me the reason they couldn't do it was due to a lack of union agreement on ticket office staff using the TVM's.

If its a new card think that needs to come from RSTL direct. Once issued it can be updated at most underground stations.

 

[DeparturesBeck]

If its a new card think that needs to come from RSTL direct. Once issued it can be updated at most underground stations.

It was adding the discount for non-protected. The discount had previously been applied to the card but 'disappeared' well before the expiry date. Happened to both mine and my partner's Oyster cards a few months apart.

 

[92002]

It was adding the discount for non-protected. The discount had previously been applied to the card but 'disappeared' well before the expiry date. Happened to both mine and my partner's Oyster cards a few months apart.

Looks like you need to send Details and fhe card to RSTL. They have the Central records of what you are entitled too. After all anybody could find a card and ask for it to be added.

 

[Mintona]

I tried to get non safeguarded priv added to my Oyster card at Paddington Elizabeth line a couple of weeks ago and none of the staff there had the first clue what I was taking about so just paid normal fare in the end.

 

[Haywain]

Looks like you need to send Details and fhe card to RSTL. They have the Central records of what you are entitled too. After all anybody could find a card and ask for it to be added.

The proof of entitlement is a Rail Staff Leisure Card with a photo of the holder on it. The discount is then added to a registered Oyster card - presumably registered to the same person as named and pictured on the Rail Staff Leisure Card. Anybody “finding a card and asking for it to be added” would surely be unsuccessful.