Zones 1-4 One Day Travelcard

[WelshBluebird]

Paper travelcards are really now only the most sensible option for people who are either spending a long time on stations or doing a large number of circular journeys (so trainspotters, basically)

Or people buying a day travelcard included in their train ticket like I am doing for visiting London on Saturday (a 16-25 railcard super off peak Bath Spa - London Zone 1-6 day travel card is £40 while the return ticket on its own would cost £37 and then I'll do at least a few tube and bus journeys while I'm there which would take me over £3 spent on Oyster PAYG).

 

[soil]

It's bad news for anyone who lives in a commuter town, but is prevented from using Oyster.

E.g.,

WOK - Boundary Zone 6:

was
£7.30 SCO + £8.90 ODT = £16.20
£9.20 CDR + £8.90 ODT = £18.10

now
£7.40 + £12 = £19.40 (+20%) (or buy the WOK STO for £18)
£9.40 + £12 = £21.40 (+18%) (the WOK ODT is £22.40)

So you've got massive fare rises because of the fact that while Oyster/contactless is now effectively mandated for any journey with the zones, you are prevented from using it on journeys that start outside the zones.

 

[Tetchytyke]

If you live outside the zones you would buy an outboundary Travelcard, surely?

 

[soil]

If you live outside the zones you would buy an outboundary Travelcard, surely?

Typically historically more expensive than the boundary ticket + travelcard combination.

 

[paddington]

The Dutch system is more "unfair" as you need 20 euros on your card (which has a purchase fee of 7.50, and the card expires after 5 years!) just to enter the station, even for a trip from Schiphol to Amsterdam which costs 4 euros. The alternative is to buy a disposable card for 1 euro in addition to the fare. So for a party of 4, you need to loan the Dutch railways over 100 euros (of which 30 are non-refundable and the rest of which is very difficult to refund), or pay 8 euros extra to buy 2 disposable singles each.

Sydney's Opal system is a bit silly, because it is online / phone only, which means you can't check your balance or top up at a station! (This will be rectified eventually.) The only way to top up with cash is at a newsagent who has signed up to do it. However there is no deposit payable on the card at this time, and also return journeys (where you touch in less than 60 minutes after you touch out from the outbound) are the same price or cheaper than singles.

 

[island]

It is not quite that extreme. Return tickets can be purchased which only charge the €1 disposable smartcard fee once. Additionally, credit can be transferred from one card onto another ahead of or after the card expiry.

The minimum €20 touch in few is a consequence of the card being valid for nationwide travel and it would otherwise lead to throwaway ticketing.

 

[anme]

The Dutch system is more "unfair" as you need 20 euros on your card (which has a purchase fee of 7.50, and the card expires after 5 years!) just to enter the station, even for a trip from Schiphol to Amsterdam which costs 4 euros. The alternative is to buy a disposable card for 1 euro in addition to the fare. So for a party of 4, you need to loan the Dutch railways over 100 euros (of which 30 are non-refundable and the rest of which is very difficult to refund), or pay 8 euros extra to buy 2 disposable singles each.

The Dutch system is not very visitor friendly, but you can avoid most of the extra charges by buying tickets online and printing them yourself. You can do this via Dutch Railways at www.ns.nl, but only Dutch bank cards are accepted. So, head over to Belgian Railways' international site at www.b-europe.com, which also sells homeprint tickets for domestic Dutch journeys and accepts foreign cards. Some (but not all) tickets cost an extra 10-50 cents compared to the Dutch prices, but you will probably save overall in both money and time. Although you have to select a train, these tickets are "full flex", and can be used on any service.

 

[PeterY]

I occasionally treat myself to a paper all zones ticket from Watford Junction. With a NSE card it's still £13. The same as last year. I'm not sure what the daily Oyster cap is from Watford JCT on a weekday but I'm guessing it's a lot more than £13. The advantage for me, is I can go wherever I like, change my mind frequently, not worry about standing on station platforms, tapping in and out or timed like an Oyster card between A and B.

If I know I'm only doing a single trip i.e. Watford - Uxbridge, then Oyster wins every time.

Thanks to the fares mods on here, I know what I can and cannot get away with, should I choose to travel back in the peak hour.

 

[causton]

I occasionally treat myself to a paper all zones ticket from Watford Junction. With a NSE card it's still £13. The same as last year. I'm not sure what the daily Oyster cap is from Watford JCT on a weekday but I'm guessing it's a lot more than £13. The advantage for me, is I can go wherever I like, change my mind frequently, not worry about standing on station platforms, tapping in and out or timed like an Oyster card between A and B.

If I know I'm only doing a single trip i.e. Watford - Uxbridge, then Oyster wins every time.

Thanks to the fares mods on here, I know what I can and cannot get away with, should I choose to travel back in the peak hour.

£16.80 for Oyster cap or paper travelcard. Railcard discounted travelcard would be £11.10 without the minimum fare