Taking bus from Zone 5 to outside London zone return journey?

[plasmaxx]

Hi all,

I commute from harrow & Wealdstone to Epsom via Clapham junction (any rail permitted, southern and south west). My monthly paper ticket ZONES 2-6 to Epsom is £185.90.

I was pondering on the idea of taking a bus from either a zone 5 or 6 station such as Stoneleigh or Tolworth station to Epsom, therefore making my monthly season ticket ZONES 2-5 oyster at only £122.50 a month, saving £63.40/month.

Now what I'm wondering is whether I can use that zone 2-5 oyster card to take the 406 bus from Epsom to either Stoneleigh or Tolworth station?

I'm pretty sure the 406 is a TFL bus but not sure about the E16.

 

[Romilly]

The E16 timetable says that TFL passes, travelcards and Oyster cards are not valid on the E16. But my understanding is that travelcards are valid on the 406.

 

[extendedpaul]

Linked to this, I have a list from 2009 of bus routes on which travelcards may be used outside of Greater London, eg to Staines, Brentwood and Epsom.

It can no longer be accessed from the wikipedia reference - does anybody have a link to an updated version ?

 

[nlogax]

The E16 is not a TfL service.

http://www.epsomcoaches.com/bus-services/fare-structure

Occasionally an E16 will turn up toting an Oyster reader as they're run by Epsom Coaches who also run the 406 (amongst others) but I don't believe these are used on this particular service.

 

[plasmaxx]

Okay so E16 is out of the question.

So back to what I was asking originally. Can I use the TFL 406 bus from Epsom to either Stoneleigh or Tolworth station using my zones 2-5 oyster card?

 

[causton]

In short, yes

 

[postye]

Okay so E16 is out of the question.

So back to what I was asking originally. Can I use the TFL 406 bus from Epsom to either Stoneleigh or Tolworth station using my zones 2-5 oyster card?

Yes, you can use buses 406 and 418 from Tolworth - Epsom on a travelcard as they are both London Buses services

 

[plasmaxx]

Yes, you can use buses 406 and 418 from Tolworth - Epsom on a travelcard as they are both London Buses services

I understand that I can use the Oyster 2-5 zones from Tolworth/Stoneleigh as they're both zone 5 areas. However can I use it in opposite diraction, from Epsom (outside of zone) going towards Tolworth/Stoneleigh?

 

[Tetchytyke]

Travelcards, of any zone, are valid on all TfL bus services, even outside the Greater London boundary. Travelcards are not valid on non-TfL bus services, even within the Greater London boundary.

You can use the Travelcard to board a TfL service in Epsom.

 

[plasmaxx]

That's great. Now I need to find the least travel time between either Surbiton to Epsom/ Stoneleigh to Epsom or Tolworth to Epsom.

I will be travelling to either of these Zone 5 stations from Clapham Junction.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Linked to this, I have a list from 2009 of bus routes on which travelcards may be used outside of Greater London, eg to Staines, Brentwood and Epsom.

I don't have a list, but if you look on the TfL bus maps you can use Travelcards on any grey-shaded route (e.g. 81 to Slough, 498 to Brentwood, 370/372 to Lakeside).

The furthest out of London you can get on a TfL bus is Dorking or Redhill.

 

[plasmaxx]

So just to confirm, someone with a Zones 1-2 Oyster card can use this to board buses as far as Dorking/Redhill and get into London City? (as long and tiresome it maybe)?

 

[Tetchytyke]

Yep. London Buses are not zonal. The price of a Travelcard covers all TfL buses.

 

[plasmaxx]

Thanks,

Now can anybody please help me find the shortest route in terms of time?

My options are either from Surbiton to Epsom, fromStoneleigh to Epsom or Tolworth to Epsom.

I will be travelling to either of these Zone 5 stations from Clapham Junction.

 

[telstarbox]

The 406 timetable is here: http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/406_418.htm

 

[hassaanhc]

Thanks,

Now can anybody please help me find the shortest route in terms of time?

My options are either from Surbiton to Epsom, fromStoneleigh to Epsom or Tolworth to Epsom.

I will be travelling to either of these Zone 5 stations from Clapham Junction.

From Tolworth you get the bus from directly outside the station, the 406 or the 418 which takes a different route to Epsom. From Stoneleigh it is just the 406 and is a few minutes walk to/from the bus stop. At Surbiton it is also a few minutes walk, but you can get both the 406 and 418.
Surbiton has the most frequent trains from Clapham Junction, 6 per hour stopping and at certain times also 4 fasts. Stoneleigh has 4 trains per hour, whereas Tolworth only has 2 per hour, so you've got to check where you get a good connection at Clapham Junction.

I'll be honest and say that I didn't realise Tolworth was in Zone 5 which makes it even worse that Kingston and adjacent stations are in Zone 6

 

[MikeWh]

I'll be honest and say that I didn't realise Tolworth was in Zone 5 which makes it even worse that Kingston and adjacent stations are in Zone 6

Tolworth is the last station in zone 5 on the way to Chessington. Surbiton is definitely zone 6 - it's the end of the Oyster line towards Woking/Guildford.

 

[plasmaxx]

From Tolworth you get the bus from directly outside the station, the 406 or the 418 which takes a different route to Epsom. From Stoneleigh it is just the 406 and is a few minutes walk to/from the bus stop. At Surbiton it is also a few minutes walk, but you can get both the 406 and 418.
Surbiton has the most frequent trains from Clapham Junction, 6 per hour stopping and at certain times also 4 fasts. Stoneleigh has 4 trains per hour, whereas Tolworth only has 2 per hour, so you've got to check where you get a good connection at Clapham Junction.

I'll be honest and say that I didn't realise Tolworth was in Zone 5 which makes it even worse that Kingston and adjacent stations are in Zone 6

Will have to rule out Surbiton as it takes too long to travel to Epsom (45 minutes by bus) and its also zone 6 meaning I will have to pay more than if I travelled from Tolworth or Stoneleigh.

 

[postye]

Will have to rule out Surbiton as it takes too long to travel to Epsom (45 minutes by bus) and its also zone 6 meaning I will have to pay more than if I travelled from Tolworth or Stoneleigh.

You're probably better off with Tolworth then.
The 406 & 418 both offer an average journey of 23 minutes to Epsom and between them offer a service every 10 minutes.

From Stoneleigh there is only the 406 (or the E16 but that isn't included in the travelcard)

 

[lewisf]

Thanks,

Now can anybody please help me find the shortest route in terms of time?

My options are either from Surbiton to Epsom, from Stoneleigh to Epsom or Tolworth to Epsom.

I will be travelling to either of these Zone 5 stations from Clapham Junction.

Surbiton is in Zone 6 so you can rule that one out. Tolworth is on the way to Surbiton on the 406 or 418 buses anyway.

 

[plasmaxx]

Surbiton is in Zone 6 so you can rule that one out. Tolworth is on the way to Surbiton on the 406 or 418 buses anyway.

The only bad thing by travelling via Tolworth is that trains come every 30 minutes from Clapham Junction