On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:52 +0100 (BST), (Colin
Rosenstiel) wrote:

In article ,
(Clive) wrote:

In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes
You can have one-day travelcard fares from the Lake District?
I just use pre-pay which is I believe where this thread started.

Bully for you then. This thread is about people who don't normally need
pre-pay because they can buy one day travelcards or returns to
Underground zones much cheaper.

So why bitch about how much paper singles cost?

--
James Farrar
. @gmail.com

Paul Terry wrote:
OK, let's look at a specific example: Bus to Richmond station, SWT to
Waterloo, tube to office. The same coming back. That costs £8 on a
one-day Travelcard. Using Oyster pre-pay, the two bus journeys would
come to £2, the two tube journeys would clock up £3.40. Add that to
the cost of a day return on SWT for the bit not covered by Oyster,
which is £5.90. Total using Oyster comes to £11.30.

Have I miscalculated, or does Oyster strike you as "not a sensible
option" for occasional use when it pushes the total cost to nearly
50% more than a travelcard?

One of us doesn't seem to understand what the word "option" means. I
take it to mean that one can use it when it's to one's advantage to do
so. It sometimes is (even if not here) so it's a good option to have.
Had the post I was responding to said "it's not sensible for this to be
the only option", then I wouldn't have any reason to disagree. I'm sure
there are plenty of occasional travellers who can benefit from Oyster.

On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 08:55:54 +0100, Paul Terry wrote:

In message , Chris Tolley
writes

That I disagree with the assertion and repeating it does not give me any
additional evidence to consider.

OK, let's look at a specific example:

Bus to Richmond station, SWT to Waterloo, tube to office.
The same coming back.

That costs £8 on a one-day Travelcard.

And, realistically, unless you live near a shop selling ODTs, you'll be paying
for the first bus journey so you can buy the ODT at Richmond. Total cost £9 or
£9.50.

Using Oyster pre-pay, the two bus journeys would come to £2, the two
tube journeys would clock up £3.40. Add that to the cost of a day
return on SWT for the bit not covered by Oyster, which is £5.90.
Total using Oyster comes to £11.30.

Have I miscalculated, or does Oyster strike you as "not a sensible
option" for occasional use when it pushes the total cost to nearly 50%
more than a travelcard?

My need, and that of people all over the Home Counties, for singles is
very limited, two tickets so far this year. A one-day travel card (with
a Network Card) is only £1.65 more than a day return to King's Cross and
a Saver return to Zones 1 & 2 £1.20 more than a Saver to King's Cross.
So prepay isn't usable for millions of such travellers.

And it is not supposed to be. It is for Londonders not "people all over the
Home counties"

In ,
Colin Rosenstiel typed:

My need, and that of people all over the Home Counties, for singles is
very limited, two tickets so far this year. A one-day travel card
(with a Network Card) is only £1.65 more than a day return to King's
Cross and a Saver return to Zones 1 & 2 £1.20 more than a Saver to
King's Cross. So prepay isn't usable for millions of such travellers.

So, carry on buying your ODTC. You don't need Oyster Pre-Pay. Why are
you worrying?



--
Bob

In message , Marc Brett
writes

And, realistically, unless you live near a shop selling ODTs, you'll be paying
for the first bus journey so you can buy the ODT at Richmond.

Always possible, but there are ticket agents close to most main bus
stops here - my local one is next to the bus stop.

Total cost £9 or £9.50.

Still cheaper than using an Oyster.

--
Paul Terry

In message , Chris Tolley
writes

One of us doesn't seem to understand what the word "option" means. I
take it to mean that one can use it when it's to one's advantage to do
so.

I take it to mean that if travel using Oyster is more expensive than the
same travel taken without it, it is not a sensible option.

It sometimes is (even if not here)

Of course it is! If Oyster was NEVER the cheaper option, what would be
the point in providing it?

Had the post I was responding to said "it's not sensible for this to be
the only option", then I wouldn't have any reason to disagree.

Nobody is suggesting that Oyster is the ONLY option - that would be
nonsense given that it is unusable on most of the NR network in London.

Look back at the thread and you'll see I was responding to TDK's
statement:

Get an Oyster card and you can start saving when you do.

That's not the case for the type of journey I most commonly take into
London, for which Oyster would be a singularly bad option.

--
Paul Terry

In message , Paul Terry
writes
Still cheaper than using an Oyster.
Is your personal Oyster not capped?
--
Clive

Ian Jelf wrote in uk.transport.london on Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:22:04
+0100 :

I think that the concept of cheaper fares on Pre Pay is something very
difficult to explain to the casual traveller.

This is, IME, very true. We've reached the conclusion that we're going
to have to get a couple of prepay Oyster cards to give to our
out-of-town visitors so they can get out and about with us.

Indeed, even the thought
of having to buy tickets from a roadside machine before climbing on a
'bus seems to put off many of my clients!

The arcane art of getting on buses has been something that seems to
elude even people who have lived and worked in London for most of
their life. One friend who has just retired regards the red omnibus as
the work of the devil, despite having a strong preference for public
transport in general.

I don't know why this is; until I lived in London there were lots of
things/locations I didn't know about, spending many a happy hour going
to Notting Hill Gate to take the Circle Line back to Paddington until
I discovered where Lancaster Gate was. But in the general absence of a
tube route, I was still willing to strike out and take a chance that a
bus would get me where I wanted to go, or at the worst that if I
over-shot I could get one coming back, without being eaten by a
lurking grue.

--
hike
- a walking tour or outing, esp. of the self-conscious kind
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

Paul Terry wrote:
Look back at the thread and you'll see I was responding to TDK's
statement:
Get an Oyster card and you can start saving when you do.

That's not the case for the type of journey I most commonly take into
London, for which Oyster would be a singularly bad option.

And I was responding to *your* statement that "Oyster is not a sensible
option for those who use National Rail and who don't have to commute
daily." It may not be an optimum choice for your particular journey, but
that does not mean it is unsuitable for everyone encompassed by "those
who use National Rail and who don't have to commute daily."
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p12161567.html
(156 464 at Liverpool Lime St, still in the green stripe livery, 2004)