JB wrote:

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:53:43 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote:

If you were doing this you'd probably have to explain it if and when
you met a ticket inspector, but the combination is perfectly valid.

Yes that was my concern. I seemed to be getting some of the ticket
office staff saying you couldn't do it and some saying you could.


However it costs more! All prices below are for a month...

Cambridge - R1256 Travelcard - £380.20

versus

Cambridge - R456 - £314.90
plus zones 1-3 Travelcard - £109.10
Total - £424.

When I checked, Cambridge - R1256 was £441.60. The £380.20 seems to be
for a ticket valid to the ex-Thameslink London stations (Blackfriars,
City Thameslink and London Bridge)?


You're quite right, I'm an idiot!

The £380.20 price I quoted for Cambridge is indeed the price of a rail-
only season ticket from Cambridge through to London Bridge via the FCC
Thameslink route (and is also the price for City Thameslink and
Blackfriars).

The rail-only season ticket price for Cambridge to London Terminals
(i.e. Kings Cross, Moorgate or Liverpool Street) is £349.50.

Meanwhile, as you correctly say, the price for Cambridge - R1256 is
£441.60.

(I was looking up the prices quickly, so I must merely have presumed
that the higher of the two prices given was the Travelcard price, but
I was very much wrong in making such a presumption!)

And thus the Cambridge - R456 plus zones 1-3 Travelcard combo at £424
is indeed cheaper.

However, can I just say that I am a little less certain than I
originally was on the question of whether this would be valid. I can
say with certainty that combining Travelcards *within* the London
zones is legit - i.e. a zones 1-3 Travelcard plus a zones 4-6
Travelcard. It was on this basis that I presumed that a Travelcard
from an out-boundary station (i.e. a station outside of London, such
as Cambridge) would be OK.

In your scenario I'm just a bit wary of some requirement that perhaps
the train needs to stop somewhere within zones 4-6 for the Travelcard
element to "kick-in" (as it were), so allowing you to combine more
than one Travelcard. One could argue that part of the reason for the
higher price is the non-stop express journey into Kings Cross.

I'm still tempted to think it is a valid combination, but I'd get rock-
solid confirmation of this first. I can certainly see grippers getting
fussed about it. If it is a valid combination, FCC wouldn't be keen on
the knowledge spreading, given that they'd lose money. Though indeed
if it is valid, why isn't everyone else doing it?

Perhaps some ticketing gurus might help us work out the definitive
answer to this?


The main reason why I was interested though, was to be able to have an
Oyster card to use on the tube, rather than a paper season ticket.


Well, if it is allowed then you've got another good reason to do it,
as it is cheaper.