In message Y9Aeo.54027$S_1.44579@hurricane of Sun, 29 Aug 2010
22:19:52 in uk.transport.london, Richard J.
writes
wrote on 29 August 2010 21:48:29 ...
...in the same way you're not allowed to share an Oyster with a period
Travelcard on it....

Another question I can't answer to my satisfaction on tfl's site: Is a
Travelcard loaded onto an Oyster the same thing as a traditional paper
travelcard? eg: it can be programmed to be effective 1, 3, 4 or 7 days?
If so, maybe that would solve my dilemma (or exacerbate it!).

Paper Travelcards are only available for 1 day (peak or off-peak), 7
days or longer (not 3 or 4 days). You can load a 7-day or longer
Travelcard on to an Oyster card, but not a 1-day Travelcard. The
benefits of a 1-day Travelcard are achieved by capping the PAYG charges
for travel on a single day.


Another advantage of Travelcards is that maximum journey times do not
apply. cf. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14872.aspx.

That page says "If you spend longer, you will be charged up to £7.00."
I have been charged £12.00 for such journeys. e.g. touch in peak time in
zone 3 and touch out in peak time in zone 1 more than 90 minutes later.
The 2 touches are charged as 2 journeys: 1 unfinished and 1 unstarted.
Ticket office staff are usually good enough to refund the quiet extra
charges - if you notice them being made.

That page does not describe combining a Travelcard and a PAYG fare.
e.g. If you have a Zone 1-2 Travelcard loaded on an Oyster card and
travel from Zone 1-4 in more than the maximum journey time. In that case
the maximum journey time ignores the Travelcard. Without a Travelcard,
each end of the journey is charged a maximum fare. I once made such a
journey and was charged a maximum fare for my exit.

The advantage of PAYG seems to be that you are charged a fairly
reasonable fare for journeys at the risk of touching problems on
Underground, DLR and National Rail.
--
Walter Briscoe