MIG wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
wrote:

Just been reading the rules about Oyster pre pay and it says that there
is a price cap equal to (or less than ) the cost of a travel card. I
thought travel cards could only be used after 9:30?

There are now two types of Day Travelcards; a peak version, for use
before 0930 on weekdays; or the traditional off-peak version, for use
after 0930 on weekdays or all day weekends or public holidays.
(Incidentally both are valid for journeys that start before 0430 the
following day as well.)

Daily price capping on Oyster is similar to - but not the same as - a
Day Travelcard. The principle difference is that Oyster Pre-Pay (or Pay
As You Go) cannot be used on most of the National Rail network in
London. At the moment (2006 prices) the Oyster Pre-Pay daily price cap
will always be 50p cheaper than it's 'equivalent' Day Travelcard.

...what happens if I use my Oyster prepay before 9:30, does this cap
still apply? Sounds like an loop hole for using a travel card before
9:30?
If you use Oyster Pre-Pay before 0930 you'll be charged the appropriate
Tube or bus fare. Any journeys you do before 0930 will not contribute
towards an off-peak cap, but they will contribute towards a peak cap.

Depending upon what journeys you make and when the following situations
can apply:

(1) You don't get capped at all, as you don't make enough journeys and
hence don't pay enough to reach any of the capping levels.

(2) You pay for your pre-0930 morning journey then make enough journeys
after 0930 to qualify for the off-peak cap - only those off-peak
journeys would contribute towards the off-peak cap.

(3) You make several journeys before 0930 along with some afterwards,
in which case you'll qualify for the peak cap. This is unlikely unless
you're travelling around a lot in the morning.

(4) You get capped for making several bus journeys in one day at £3,
plus you pay on top of that for a one or two Tube journeys. This is
only really likely if you make one Tube journey.

The information above does contradict that elsewhere on this thread - I
can assure you that the above is correct.


Does anyone know how much a zones 1-6 travel card costs these days?
£6.30 off-peak, £12.40 peak. All the information is on the tickets
section of the TfL website, see below for more info.


I buy a yearly season ticket, but as I often work from home etc Ive
figured out that it would be cheaper to pay daily if a daily ticket
costs less that £10.
It's quite possible, yes. Perhaps if you could indicate how often you
travel, how you travel (Underground/bus/overground train) and between
which zones you travel then we'd have an idea of what would be
appropriate for you.

Oyster Pre-Pay would be far less helpful if you travel on National Rail
(NR), as it can't currently be used on most routes. For those who do
use NR, the Peak Day Travelcard is one option if travelling before 0930
on weekdays. Another option to consider is buying a single NR ticket in
the morning peak, then buying an off-peak Day Travelcard for use after
0930. For those travelling regularly then a season Travelcard (weekly
or longer) is likely to be the best value - and even in situations
where it's a toss up, then the season Travelcard has the advantage that
you've bought it already whilst buying single tickets every day is a
hassle.


TfL ticket information:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...06/index.shtml

Tube/DLR fares (both Oyster and cash):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick.../tubedlr.shtml

Daily price caps (when travelling on Tube/DLR)
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...ubedlr-4.shtml

Daily price cap for bus/tram journeys:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...strams-4.shtml


The whole TfL Fares and Tickets 2006 leaflet can be downloaded as a PDF
he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...fares-2006.pdf

For detailed information on daily price capping see page 19.



I know a lot of answers have been given here, but I just want to be
sure of one thing.

If I made one journey of any kind before 0930, and then lots of other
journeys, the only paper travelcard that would cover it all would be a
peak one. I might choose instead to pay a single fare for the first
journey and then get an off-peak travelcard for the rest.

But are we definitely saying that Oyster will treat the first journey
as if you just bought a single fare, and then apply off-peak capping to
the rest of the day's journeys? Or would that first journey of the day
rule out off-peak capping for the whole day?

The former. It always works out the cheapest combination for the trips
you make on it.

Your answer implies the former, but I thought that that latter applied
to me when I mistakenly caught my first bus just before 0930. I wish I
could remember the exact figures now.

That shouldn't be the case - the capping would only fail to work if
there was an unresolved journey in there somewhere. If all is working
correctly, then for the combo you describe, you'd be charged for both a
peak bus journey (£1) and an off-peak cap (e.g. £4.40 Z1-2).


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