In message , Graham J
writes

I'm not really clear where the increased expense comes in.

I didn't repeat the whole saga that I outlined here a few weeks ago, but
in brief ...

Bus to Richmond Station, SWT to Waterloo, tube to office (and return):

Using a One-day Peak Travel card: £8.
Using Oyster (+ the £5.90 SWT train fare): £11.30

In other words, yes I could use Oyster - but it will be more than 40%
more expensive, and it fails to give me the additional flexibility of
using most other NR services at no extra cost should I wish to.

I also think the discrimination argument is rather flimsy.

From the 2nd January, my ODTC will cost £8.40

But if I used Oyster, the TfL component of this journey would go down
from £5.40 to £4.80.

So, while ODTC is still the better option, I do not get the advantage of
cheaper Oyster fares that are being offered to many Londoners, although
I think I pay the same GLA precept as anyone else.

Most of my journeys have a National Rail component and I don't feel at
all discriminated against. I just take the convenience and cost
benefits of Oyster where I can.

I hardly ever have that luxury. Perhaps one of several nubs of the
problem is the fact that transport charging fails to take into account
the needs of many of us who now work largely from home - in several of
the companies I work for, staff now only go into the central London
office two or three times a week (and I only go in once or twice a
month). This is environmentally to the advantage of all, and yet such
occasional travellers actually pay more - not less - than those who use
up power resources every day in their travel.

Not much of an incentive to cut congestion in London, is it?

--
Paul Terry