I would like to have this clarified 100% as I've heard different
stories, namely that you can combine two seasons and now the messages
that say you can't. If you can't, the next best option is to get a
Travelcard up to Finsbury Park and a NR season from there - because
almost all trains stop there.

When I looked at the Z1-6 and Hadley Wood to Hatfield option, with an
annual ticket, the savings were significant - nearly £300 (a search on
uk.railway will give the exact figure, as I've lost my paperwork).
However, if I'd have to get a slow train that stops at Hadley Wood then
it's not quite so appealing.

Finally, even if it DIDN'T work out that much cheaper, the extra
convenience of having an Oyster is obvious. In fact, it might even be
worth paying a little more for (in my opinion).

Jonathan

In message , at 11:48:32 on
Fri, 26 Aug 2005, asdf remarked:
The rule you are looking for is
number 17 at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/conditions.htm .

Unfortunately I'm not sure whether Travelcards count as "season
tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport
executive or local authority" which would seem to be the deciding
issue...

The current view over on uk.railway is that a 7-day (or longer)
Travelcard *is* a Season Ticket, and *isn't* a PTE or Local Authority
ticket, and therefore the train you catch *must* stop at the boundary
station.
--
Roland Perry

I've thus posted a query asking the ticketing experts over at
uk.railway to clear up any confusion (the thread is entitled "Allowed
to combine season tickets?"). Once I get a definitive answer on that
issue then we'll know whether Jonathan's two ticket hypothesis is
correct or not. And whether asdf needs to start masticating on a bowler
or not.

I rather suspect you will find that you will get three answers:

1) A TfL period travelcard *is* a season ticket for the purposes of that
rule.
2) A TfL period travelcard is *not* a season ticket for ditto.
3) Despite the question coming up repeatedly in the past, there is still no
definitive answer.

Reading the thread in uk.railway, one person asserts that 1) is the case and
this has been established many times before on the group. However you will
also find if you look in the archives that one person queried WAGN directly
and was categorically told that 2) was the case and I've also seen this
asserted several times before.

It certainly seems to me that the distinction was meant to be made between
season tickets issued by the franchised rail operators and those issued by
other operators and I would have thought TfL was meant to be bundled in with
the latter. However the distinction was made poorly and hasn't been
clarified.

G.

wrote:
(Benefits that will be much more beneficial when National Rail is eventually
fully incorporated into the Pre Pay system, but that will only happen
when the train companies stop dragging their feet.)


We had a visit from TFL to show some new things in their Journey
Planner (I write for a technology magazine) and they said they had
offered to pay and install all the equipment for all the TOCs (in fact,
the person was as frustrated as me because he commutes using Southern,
and therefore can't even use an Oyster himself!). He says everything is
ready to go, but I do wonder if there's a little bit more to it than
that?

I understand the TOCs are worried about losing money, but there must be
other reasons? In the long run, they will lose anyway because once it's
clear to many people (more than a handful of people here and there)
that it's cheaper to buy an Oyster season and then 'tag on' a simple
station-station return on top with the TOC, they'll be losing out big
time.

AIUI the delay is not due to equipment installation but more that zonal
fares would need to be rolled out across the TOCs before introducing
Prepay - otherwise the system would become rather complicated.


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

On Sun, 28 Aug 2005, Dave Arquati wrote:

wrote:

(Benefits that will be much more beneficial when National Rail is
eventually fully incorporated into the Pre Pay system, but that will
only happen when the train companies stop dragging their feet.)

I understand the TOCs are worried about losing money, but there must be
other reasons?

AIUI the delay is not due to equipment installation but more that zonal
fares would need to be rolled out across the TOCs before introducing
Prepay - otherwise the system would become rather complicated.

Is the worry over compatibility with this other system - ITSO or whatever
- a factor?

tom

--
Operate all mechanisms!

Tom Anderson wrote:
On Sun, 28 Aug 2005, Dave Arquati wrote:

wrote:


(Benefits that will be much more beneficial when National Rail is
eventually fully incorporated into the Pre Pay system, but that will
only happen when the train companies stop dragging their feet.)


I understand the TOCs are worried about losing money, but there must
be other reasons?


AIUI the delay is not due to equipment installation but more that
zonal fares would need to be rolled out across the TOCs before
introducing Prepay - otherwise the system would become rather
complicated.


Is the worry over compatibility with this other system - ITSO or
whatever - a factor?

Possibly. I would guess that the zonal fare thing is more important at
the moment as Oyster already has a large established user base whereas
the ITSO standard hasn't arrived on NR yet, but if ATOC are trying to
get together an NR smartcard, then it may be a problem.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

Richard Adamfi wrote:
Mizter T wrote:

This move represents TfL's next big push for the Oyster card system,
and is backed up by a witty and well executed poster campaign across
the Tube and elsewhere (I've seen at least one advertising billboard
poster at an overground station), with the strapline "Faster Smarter
Easier Oyster", and with taglines such as "Blue is the new Pink", "The
correct change", and - to push Oyster's online purchasing facility -
"Why stand in line when you can buy online"



These posters have appeared at such far flung locations such as Three
Bridges and Portsmouth Harbour. Is there much point in advertising
Oyster this far away from the capital?

The only reason I could think of is if there are lots of people with a
'weekend' home out that way who commute into London weekly, stay in
their London home and travel on the tube during the week. I suppose
people in that category might care.

--
To contact me take a davidhowdon and add a @yahoo.co.uk to the end.

"David Howdon" wrote in
message ...
Richard Adamfi wrote:
These posters have appeared at such far flung locations such as Three
Bridges and Portsmouth Harbour. Is there much point in advertising
Oyster this far away from the capital?

The only reason I could think of is if there are lots of people with a
'weekend' home out that way who commute into London weekly, stay in their
London home and travel on the tube during the week. I suppose people in
that category might care.

I live in Brighton, but travel to London often - sometimes for a day at a
time, sometimes several, and I absolutely love the Prepay Oyster. I'd
certainly use the system next time I need a 7-day card too.

I'm actually surprised that they're not more common amongst people down
here. London's a 50-minute journey away so it's pretty common to go up there
just for shopping or social gatherings.

All we need now is for Southern to get in on the act and allow the whole
journey to go on the Oyster, just like when you buy a Brighton-London return
ticket with the travelcard built in. (Please, please!) Although it would be
hideously easy to forget to "sign out" when getting home on the last train.
(The barriers are almost always open for arrivals on the midnight-five & one
a.m. trains from Victoria.)

K