On 21 May, 13:04, redcat wrote:
Recliner wrote:
"redcat" wrote in message
om
Recliner wrote:
"redcat" wrote in message
news:jd6dncx9svR0WGjWnZ2dnUVZ_sOdnZ2d@earthlink .com

Trains ran very smoothly, btw, and I lucked out with timing, hardly
having to wait for them at all. Was I just fortunate? Or have things
improved? I notice the Oyster no longer works to save you money.
It's now L1.80 per journey (in zone 1&2 for me)each and every time.
Last year I seem to recall you wouldn't go over a certain amount of
money on a given day within your zones.
Yes, there's usually a pretty frequent service on all the central
London lines. It's sparser on the more distant branches (eg, every
ten minutes or so).

Oyster definitely saves you money. Not only are Oyster fares much
lower than cash fares, but there is still day capping. However, the
rules are complex and the cap is now higher than before, as Oyster
is now valid on more NR routes. This means you're less likely to
benefit from it than in the past.

Thanks, that makes sense. I guess the peak fare capping was triggered
each day by us travelling after 4 pm. Well, who doesn't? :-) That
daily cap for us was £7.20.

No, the peak fare capping is triggered if you travel before 9:30 (or
such trips are left out of the off-peak cap).

Hmmmmmm. OK, I see. Travelling at rush hour in the evening I would pay
the peak oyster fare for that time.

Yes - but you are only subject to the off-peak daily caps during the
evening peak.

Still, take a couple of trips at
that time and you're up to the £7.20, anyway, even if you started your
Underground day after 9:29 am. Correct?

Not quite sure what you mean by that. If you only travel after 09:30
on weekdays then you can only ever be subject to the off-peak cap
(which applies up to 04:29 the next day).

The important thing to note is that the peak periods for single PAYG
fares and for capping purposes is different - for single fares the
peak period is 06:30-09:30 and 16:00-19:00 weekdays, whilst for
capping purposes the peak period is 04:30-09:30 (with no evening
period).