peter wrote:
I hold a paper travelcard for zones 1-4 (issued at a national rail
station), and occasionally need to travel to zone 5. Until last
December I always paid the difference in cash before the journey, but
the penal hike of cash fares meant that I have now bought a pay as you
go oyster. At the time of purchase (at Victoria TfL enquiry office) I
asked how I should use it for a such a zone extension - if I touched in
at the start of the journey I would presumably be charged for the Z1-4
section for which I already hold a travelcard. Yet once on the train
there is no way to validate the ticket on passing into Z5. The reply
was to tell staff at my destination station who would then deduct the
correct amount from the card.

Well, yesterday I tried this for the first time, travelling to
Cockfosters. Staff there absolutely refused to deduct the correct
amount, saying I should put the whole journey on the oyster card. I
pointed out (politely) that I was following TfL advice, but that made
no difference. After about ten minutes arguing they let me through the
barrier (so I got a free ride), but this is clearly unsatisfactory.

How should I temporarily extend the range of a paper travelcard using

That's a bit of a dilemma. I think the initial advice was a bit off the
mark - I'm not surprised the staff at Cockfosters were reluctant about it.

The only truly satisfactory solution seems to me to exchange your paper
Z1-4 travelcard for an Oyster version from a Tube station at the
earliest opportunity.

Failing that, the only alternatives are either to stump up for the cash
extensions, or to break your journey in order to touch in. Some places
may be easier to do this than others - it's worth remembering that at
least in the evenings and weekends, any non-Z1 fare is £1, so you could
touch in somewhere easy like Highbury & Islington (which has platform
validators next to the Victoria line platforms).

Elsewhere, you wouldn't have to necessarily leave the gateline, but
could touch your Oyster in on the side gate validator (probably getting
a strange look from the gate staff in the process). Sometimes I have to
go through this process at King's Cross when connecting to or from
Thameslink if the validators in the interchange tunnel aren't working.


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