On Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:07:06 -0700 (PDT), Mizter T
wrote:

On 24 Apr, 06:27, (Neil Williams)
wrote:
Or why not just allow a transfer when you board any other bus within
an hour (say) of boarding the first one, and just accept that the odd
few might be able to do a cheap return trip. That "concession" also
exists on the Dutch Strippenkaart.

That's what I was thinking and that would surely just be the easiest
thing to implement. I would suggest that it should perhaps just be
limited to one transfer, so two bus journeys.

Yes, that's the easiest, I wouldn't limit it to one change though.

Note that on Croydon Tramlink basically the same thing has already
been implemented [...]

So, as we guessed, it could be done... It isn't my fault that TfL
doesn't provide a bus straight from my house to Heathrow, for example,
and now I'll need three if I ever dare go to T5... This is something
that the railways have always understood and allowed for in their fare
structures. The US transfer ticket concept is now an anachronism when
it can be implemented so easily with Oyster.

If the free bus transfer was only available within an hour then that
could mean those who're making longer journeys, or changing onto a
less frequent bus service, might end up paying twice - however this
could be mitigated if the free bus transfer was considered as a 'free
bonus' as opposed to an integral part of the ticketing scheme.

I can nonetheless foresee potential problems where, for example,
someone who only has enough credit on their Oyster card for a single
fare and is relying on taking advantage of the free transfer rule [...] Many
people genuinely do operate in this manner without any margin for
error, and so could come unstuck.

They're at least as well-off as under the current (IMHO unfair) system
though. In Barcelona, for example, a zone 1 ticket lasts for 75
minutes, probably to account for delays, as you'd never need that long
to complete (=get on the last bus/train of) a normal journey. That
kind of time, a bit more than an hour, might be suitable here.

Also any free bus transfer rule would inevitably mean that TfL is in
receipt of less revenue, which has to be factored in.

Yes, revenue that they didn't deserve in the first place! It is how
buses have always worked in this country of course, but that doesn't
mean that they should always be like this. It's odd that Paris, often
compared favourably with London, also did this when many other French
towns and cities allowed free transfers - indeed, until fairly
recently, a bus journey in Paris could cost more than the equivalent
metro journey.

Bus fares elsewhere in the UK vary widely of course but the London
flat fare (on Oyster) is pretty low. I think there's room to allow
free transfers and bump up the fare a bit to make some compensation.

Richard.