Today is my birthday. It's a long time since I have looked forward to a birthday, over fifty years, I remember hating birthday parties up to my last one when I was six. When I was seven they decided that I was old enough to decide for myself that I didn't want one.

This year however I have actually been looking forward to my birthday, and the most useful and valuable birthday present that I have ever received, the 60+ London Oyster photocard.

Remarkably it's valid on national rail services after 9:30 on Monday to Friday, with no evening peak restriction as far as I can tell, and on most other public transport networks in London at any time.

I lost out in my younger days, having to pay full fares from age 14; no student discounts etc in those days.

Decided to go for a ride this afternoon; this is where I went:

405 bus from Coulsdon to West Croydon

Train from West Croydon to London Bridge

Jubilee Line from London Bridge to Stratford

DLR from Stratford to Cutty Sark

368 Bus from Greenwich to Woolwich

54 bus from Woolwich to Elmers End

Intended to catch the tram from Elmers End to East Croydon but it's not running today, so had to use the replacement bus to East Croydon

Train from East Croydon to Coulsdon Town

Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

wrote:
Today is my birthday. It's a long time since I have looked forward to a
birthday, over fifty years, I remember hating birthday parties up to my
last one when I was six. When I was seven they decided that I was old
enough to decide for myself that I didn't want one.

This year however I have actually been looking forward to my birthday,
and the most useful and valuable birthday present that I have ever
received, the 60+ London Oyster photocard.

Remarkably it's valid on national rail services after 9:30 on Monday to
Friday, with no evening peak restriction as far as I can tell, and on
most other public transport networks in London at any time.

Yes, it's tremendous, and a real advantage to being a London resident. Of
course, we've been contributing to the scheme for years as part of our
Council taxes, so it's nice to become a benificiary.

I lost out in my younger days, having to pay full fares from age 14; no
student discounts etc in those days.

Decided to go for a ride this afternoon; this is where I went:

405 bus from Coulsdon to West Croydon

Train from West Croydon to London Bridge

Jubilee Line from London Bridge to Stratford

DLR from Stratford to Cutty Sark

368 Bus from Greenwich to Woolwich

54 bus from Woolwich to Elmers End

Intended to catch the tram from Elmers End to East Croydon but it's not
running today, so had to use the replacement bus to East Croydon

Train from East Croydon to Coulsdon Town

Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

I don't recall doing anything special on the first day I got mine. And I
had to wait longer than you, as when I reached 60, the 60+ card hadn't been
invented; it was introduced a year or two later, so mine didn't arrive on a
birthday. Like you, I never liked celebrating them, and stopped doing so as
soon as my parents let me.

Something I did a lot when I first got my card, and still do occasionally,
is to travel on a rail or Tube line to a station on the edge of the Freedom
Pass area, then walk or take a bus or two to another edge station to return
(I carry a GPS, so never get lost). I think I've now visited all the edge
stations, and been for a wander/bus ride from them; my card is now a
Freedom Pass, so my free bus rides are not limited to TfL buses. I
deliberately don't over-research the bus options in advance, so it's a bit
of a magical mystery tour.

I take particular pleasure in travelling to the few edge stations outside
zone 6, like Dartford, Chesham or Shenfield. There's a particularly bucolic
bus between Chesham and Uxbridge, via Gerards Cross.

It's also nice to get back to Heathrow and get straight on the Tube, at no
cost. At Gatwick, I only need to buy a ticket to East Croydon, with the
rest of the journey free.

Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

No. But I do remember how pleased I was when I discovered the new
ticket machines at my nearest Overground station sold tickets from
Boundary Zone 6, avoiding the need to play "guess how long to allow for
the ticket office queue".

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

The world is your lobster my son.

On Mon, 15 May 2017 11:46:42 +0100, Robin wrote:


Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

No. But I do remember how pleased I was when I discovered the new
ticket machines at my nearest Overground station sold tickets from
Boundary Zone 6, avoiding the need to play "guess how long to allow for
the ticket office queue".

Do you know if Underground ticket machines can do the same? I've not
managed to do so, and I've bought extension tickets from the actual
ticket office (remember those?) at Overground stations.

On 15/05/2017 12:12, Recliner wrote:
On Mon, 15 May 2017 11:46:42 +0100, Robin wrote:


Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

No. But I do remember how pleased I was when I discovered the new
ticket machines at my nearest Overground station sold tickets from
Boundary Zone 6, avoiding the need to play "guess how long to allow for
the ticket office queue".

Do you know if Underground ticket machines can do the same? I've not
managed to do so, and I've bought extension tickets from the actual
ticket office (remember those?) at Overground stations.


AIUI that's a definite maybe with a promise of shortly yes.

I have bought BZ6 tickets at machines at underground stations (eg
Victoria) when there were queues locally. But I think that was as part
of a trial.

I have checked today and see TfL reported in March[1]

"Our trials of providing both boundary extension tickets for customers
in possession of non-Zone 1 Travelcards and discounted National Rail
through tickets in late 2016 were successful. This additional
functionality will be made available at all stations as part of a
planned system upgrade in May 2017."

HTH

[1]
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/csopp-2017...ction-plan.pdf

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

On 15/05/17 13:12, Recliner wrote:
On Mon, 15 May 2017 11:46:42 +0100, Robin wrote:


Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?

No. But I do remember how pleased I was when I discovered the new
ticket machines at my nearest Overground station sold tickets from
Boundary Zone 6, avoiding the need to play "guess how long to allow for
the ticket office queue".

Do you know if Underground ticket machines can do the same? I've not
managed to do so, and I've bought extension tickets from the actual
ticket office (remember those?) at Overground stations.

I have just written a complaint to TfL. Before the ticket office closed
at Stanmore I used to explain to the person behind the glass how to do a
BZ6 to Gatwick ticket. After the office closed I was able to get a
Travelcard extension (for my Freedom Pass) to Gatwick from the machine.
But not the last two times I travelled!

On Sunday, 14 May 2017 23:21:03 UTC+1, wrote:
Today is my birthday. It's a long time since I have looked forward to a birthday, over fifty years, I remember hating birthday parties up to my last one when I was six. When I was seven they decided that I was old enough to decide for myself that I didn't want one.

I am very glad that you did something to remember the day by.
I shall be doing something myself when la mala hora evetually tolls for me.
I was trying to find the story of the two women who travelled across England at its widest point starting on the day the rose first appeared on Freedom passes. They travelled from Cornwall to the Wash, I believe.
I could not find that story but I found this good one:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...us-passes.html
....which sounds very good. Eight days travelling Exeter to Carlisle buck shee!

I got FreedomPass at 60 years of age in 2005, this was before the eligibility date was raised.
In those days you got the pass from post offices.
My birthday was on a Sunday and as I was determined to get my Pass that day I bicycled to Hatton Cross, then used the free bus service to get to Terminal 2 where there was a post office open on Sundays, and came away with my valued FreedomPass.
It has given me many happy days out on buses and trains ever since.
John

On 14-May-17 11:21 PM, wrote:
Today is my birthday. It's a long time since I have looked forward to a birthday, over fifty years, I remember hating birthday parties up to my last one when I was six. When I was seven they decided that I was old enough to decide for myself that I didn't want one.

This year however I have actually been looking forward to my birthday, and the most useful and valuable birthday present that I have ever received, the 60+ London Oyster photocard.

Remarkably it's valid on national rail services after 9:30 on Monday to Friday, with no evening peak restriction as far as I can tell, and on most other public transport networks in London at any time.

I lost out in my younger days, having to pay full fares from age 14; no student discounts etc in those days.

Decided to go for a ride this afternoon; this is where I went:

405 bus from Coulsdon to West Croydon

Train from West Croydon to London Bridge

Jubilee Line from London Bridge to Stratford

DLR from Stratford to Cutty Sark

368 Bus from Greenwich to Woolwich

54 bus from Woolwich to Elmers End

Intended to catch the tram from Elmers End to East Croydon but it's not running today, so had to use the replacement bus to East Croydon

Train from East Croydon to Coulsdon Town

Does anyone else remember what they did with one of these on their first day?


Went to work as usual, but it cost a lot less.

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