Travelling beyond season ticket station without buying entirely new ticket

[sleepo]

Hi all,

I have an annual season ticket from Kingston to Clapham Junction - which means using the Kingston - London Waterloo service.

Occasionally I would like to travel from Kingston all the way to Waterloo. Is there a way to do this that takes advantage of the fact I've already paid for most of the journey on my season ticket? Can I somehow just pay the difference, i.e. Clapham Junction - Waterloo?

Sorry if this is an FAQ but I have not managed to find the answer by searching here or Google!

 

[SS4]

You may. Ask for an single/return from Clapham Junction to Waterloo although a London travelcard may be cheaper than a return

 

[sleepo]

You may. Ask for an single/return from Clapham Junction to Waterloo although a London travelcard may be cheaper than a return

Interesting, thanks. Any idea if it is possible to buy a Clapham-Waterloo ticket from a machine at Kingston?

 

[cjohnson]

Interesting, thanks. Any idea if it is possible to buy a Clapham-Waterloo ticket from a machine at Kingston?

Not that I'm aware; at present it's only Southern ticket machines that let you buy tickets from any destination. You can always buy at the ticket office, or buy in advance online via your ticket site of choosing (e.g. swtrains.co.uk but NOT thetrainline due to their booking fees!) and opt to collect it at the Kingston ticket machine.

 

[sleepo]

Good idea. Many thanks

 

[LexyBoy]

Surely just buying from the counter would be more convenient?

Oyster will be cheaper but of course you lose the convenience of staying on the train- you'll have to exit at CJ, touch in and get on the next train.

By the way, if you use Oyster on rail or Tube at all, make sure you load your Gold Card onto it to get discounted off peak travel- this can be done at any TfL station.

 

[sleepo]

By the way, if you use Oyster on rail or Tube at all, make sure you load your Gold Card onto it to get discounted off peak travel- this can be done at any TfL station.

The season ticket/gold card is paper and I was told I couldn't get it on an Oyster card. I do have a separate PAYG Oyster card though. Any idea how I could combine the two to benefit from discounted off-peak travel?

 

[SS4]

The season ticket/gold card is paper and I was told I couldn't get it on an Oyster card. I do have a separate PAYG Oyster card though. Any idea how I could combine the two to benefit from discounted off-peak travel?

I'm sure you can but I'm no expert. You can ask on MikeWh's independent oyster site if you want a more expert opinion.
The only real way I know to combine the two is to get out and leg it to the Oyster reader and leg it back.

 

[sleepo]

Awesome, thanks! I'll print a copy of that and take it to my local station... and failing that, a tube station!

 

[bb21]

The season ticket/gold card is paper and I was told I couldn't get it on an Oyster card. I do have a separate PAYG Oyster card though. Any idea how I could combine the two to benefit from discounted off-peak travel?

You can certainly load Gold Card discounts onto a stand-alone PAYG Oyster card.

The only real way I know to combine the two is to get out and leg it to the Oyster reader and leg it back.

Unfortunately this is correct. If you do not touch in on a PAYG Oyster card then you will be charged a maximum fare for an incomplete journey.

 

[34D]

I'm sure you can but I'm no expert. You can ask on MikeWh's independent oyster site if you want a more expert opinion.
The only real way I know to combine the two is to get out and leg it to the Oyster reader and leg it back.

A Kingston-Clapham Junction season (the ticket being discussed here) cannot be loaded onto an Oystercard.

The OP could purchase a zone 2 to zone 6 season (which is more expensive) on either paper or oyster.

In any of the above cases, the customer can take his paper gold card to any LUL ticket office and have his entitlement loaded onto his PAYG oystercard (this gives I understand 1/3 off the off-peak cap - but see oyster-rail.org thing for details).

 

[big_dirt]

My season ticket is to Elephant and Castle. On Friday evening I was having a few post-work beers by Blackfriars so I started there instead. An off peak single to Elephant was £2.40! I'm sure there are few stations closer. It transpired it would have been cheaper for me to have used my Oyster PAYG for the whole journey and disregard my season ticket which was valid for 90% of the distance of the journey.

 

[SS4]

A Kingston-Clapham Junction season (the ticket being discussed here) cannot be loaded onto an Oystercard.

The OP could purchase a zone 2 to zone 6 season (which is more expensive) on either paper or oyster.

In any of the above cases, the customer can take his paper gold card to any LUL ticket office and have his entitlement loaded onto his PAYG oystercard (this gives I understand 1/3 off the off-peak cap - but see oyster-rail.org thing for details).

I was referring the the gold card (admittedly could have made this clearer)

 

[Deerfold]

My season ticket is to Elephant and Castle. On Friday evening I was having a few post-work beers by Blackfriars so I started there instead. An off peak single to Elephant was £2.40! I'm sure there are few stations closer. It transpired it would have been cheaper for me to have used my Oyster PAYG for the whole journey and disregard my season ticket which was valid for 90% of the distance of the journey.

I don't understand this. Oyster PAYG for Blackfriars to Kingston would have been £2.25 with your discount but £3.40 if you've not got the discount loaded on the card.

How did you pay for the journey berween Blackfriars and Elephant and Castle? If you'd used a discounted Oystercard that should have cost £1.30, if not on an Oystercard it's £2.

In either case it's cheaper to use PAYG just for the first section than for the whole journey.

If you haven't got the discount loaded I'd recommend Oyster on the bus to Elephant & Castle - £1.35 and it still only takes about 5 minutes at that time of night.

 

[big_dirt]

I don't understand this. Oyster PAYG for Blackfriars to Kingston would have been £2.25 with your discount but £3.40 if you've not got the discount loaded on the card.

How did you pay for the journey berween Blackfriars and Elephant and Castle? If you'd used a discounted Oystercard that should have cost £1.30, if not on an Oystercard it's £2.

In either case it's cheaper to use PAYG just for the first section than for the whole journey.

If you haven't got the discount loaded I'd recommend Oyster on the bus to Elephant & Castle - £1.35 and it still only takes about 5 minutes at that time of night.

It isn't me going to Kingston, it's sleepo.

I was just commenting that in such circumstances it can often be cheaper to buy the whole journey even though you have a season ticket for part of the journey although as the OP is going outside the London zones I am sure that this is not the case for him.

I was merely sharing my own experience.

I didn't take the bus to Elephant because I was travelling to Tulse Hill and it is easier to get on the train at Blackfriars and travel the whole distance.

So I just got a single to Elephant which cost £2.40. Steep in my mind, given the distance.

 

[Deerfold]

It isn't me going to Kingston, it's sleepo.

So I just got a single to Elephant which cost £2.40. Steep in my mind, given the distance.

By its zonal nature, short hops in (Central) London do tend to be relatively expensive with some long ones very good value.

It does seem a shame if Oyster cannot work out that it would be cheaper to ignore your Travelcard.

 

[MikeWh]

By its zonal nature, short hops in (Central) London do tend to be relatively expensive with some long ones very good value.

It does seem a shame if Oyster cannot work out that it would be cheaper to ignore your Travelcard.

I still think there's a misunderstanding here. My reading is that he has a paper season from Tulse Hill to Elephant & Castle. The NR cash fare from Blackfriars to Elephant & Castle is £2.40 while the Oyster off-peak fare from Blackfriars to Tulse Hill is £2.10.

 

[Deerfold]

I still think there's a misunderstanding here. My reading is that he has a paper season from Tulse Hill to Elephant & Castle. The NR cash fare from Blackfriars to Elephant & Castle is £2.40 while the Oyster off-peak fare from Blackfriars to Tulse Hill is £2.10.

Ah, so Oyster from Blackfriars to Elephant and Castle would be cheaper (£2.00) - but would introduce a need to get off the train.

 

[MikeWh]

Ah, so Oyster from Blackfriars to Elephant and Castle would be cheaper (£2.00) - but would introduce a need to get off the train.

Yes, though I think there are validators near the platform exit so if you were in the right carriage it might not mean missing the train.

 

[big_dirt]

I still think there's a misunderstanding here. My reading is that he has a paper season from Tulse Hill to Elephant & Castle. The NR cash fare from Blackfriars to Elephant & Castle is £2.40 while the Oyster off-peak fare from Blackfriars to Tulse Hill is £2.10.

yeah, that's what I came to realise, that it was more expensive and more time consuming to buy a ticket for one stop than to just ignore the season ticket and do the lot on my Oyster.

To add insult to injury, when I got to the platform the train was just pulling in, was 4 carriages long and went to the far end of the new 12-car platform. it's some trot, I can tell you!
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Yes, though I think there are validators near the platform exit so if you were in the right carriage it might not mean missing the train.

The validators are down by the entrances exits to the station, I don't know of any on the platform.

Interestingly, you have to pass the Oyster validator to get to a TVM and there are no further validators between the TVM and the platform. Led to me being absent-mindedly charged full fare once when I had to top up in order to travel!

But all in all it is a very good service.