Before I begin: yes, I have spent some time looking through the archives,
but I'm just as confused as ever, if not more so!

I may be visiting London for a day trip early in the New Year. So I
looked at the TfL site and saw the new ticket prices from January onwards
(£4 single! Wow), and the sledgehammer "get an Oyster card now, you
pitiful fools!" stuff. But the point is this: when I visit London I
sometimes like to change my plans on the spur of the moment, I sometimes
get lost in the Tube, etc etc.

Something that I've always found incredibly convenient is having a ticket
- a one-day Travelcard being what I've always used before - that has
*unlimited* validity. I do *not* want a card that I either have to: a)
top up beforehand like a mobile phone; or that b) is only valid for a
limited number of journeys. As far as I can tell, that's what you get
with Oyster cards.

I do see that one-day Travelcards are continuing, albeit at a slightly
higher rate than Oyster fares, but what I can't tell is what I do with
them at stations. Are they still the National Rail-sized card tickets to
go in NR-style barriers, have they been changed to "touch in and out" in
an Oyster-style way (something I've never done, having not been to London
for several years), do I have to go to the side gate and show actual
staff, what?

Also, there seems to be an implication that paper Travelcards' days are
numbered. If that's so, then will there be no *unlimited-validity* day
tickets suitable for day trippers like me who don't want either a PAYG
system or an "account"? And will there be any way to have a ticket valid
on (nearly) *all* London National Rail services, as I see Oyster cards
are not. If not, why not?

--
Bewdley, Worcs. ~90m asl.

David Buttery wrote:
Before I begin: yes, I have spent some time looking through the archives,
but I'm just as confused as ever, if not more so!

snip

Something that I've always found incredibly convenient is having a ticket
- a one-day Travelcard being what I've always used before - that has
*unlimited* validity. I do *not* want a card that I either have to: a)
top up beforehand like a mobile phone; or that b) is only valid for a
limited number of journeys. As far as I can tell, that's what you get
with Oyster cards.

Not quite. The PAYG component of an Oystercard is valid for the number
of journeys that can be made with the current stored value on the card.
If you store sufficient value on it (say 10GBP) and reach the price cap
for the fare zones you travel in, you can make unlimited journeys for
the rest of the day.


I do see that one-day Travelcards are continuing, albeit at a slightly
higher rate than Oyster fares, but what I can't tell is what I do with
them at stations. Are they still the National Rail-sized card tickets to
go in NR-style barriers, have they been changed to "touch in and out" in
an Oyster-style way (something I've never done, having not been to London
for several years), do I have to go to the side gate and show actual
staff, what?

The magnetic readers are still in situ and still in use at all LU
stations. A standard magnetic ODTC will work the gates just fine.


Also, there seems to be an implication that paper Travelcards' days are
numbered. If that's so, then will there be no *unlimited-validity* day
tickets suitable for day trippers like me who don't want either a PAYG
system or an "account"? And will there be any way to have a ticket valid
on (nearly) *all* London National Rail services, as I see Oyster cards
are not. If not, why not?

ODTCs will continue as magnetic tickets. It's the period travelcards
that are being stamped out and replaced with Oyster - I believe it is
now almost impossible to get magnetic weekly/monthly/yearly travelcards
from LU stations. AFAIK it is still possible at NR stations.

And Oyster cards ARE valid everywhere within Greater London - just not
PAYG-only cards. If you load a 7-day travelcard onto your Oyster, you
can go anywhere on any transport mode you want within the zonal
validity of the travelcard. The only danger is a stroppy RPI, but
that's what the record card that the ticket office gives you is for.

*cue Paul Corfield*

"TheOneKEA" wrote in
oups.com:

snip
ODTCs will continue as magnetic tickets. It's the period travelcards
that are being stamped out and replaced with Oyster
snip

Aha! That is the precise thing I wanted to hear; thank you!

--
Bewdley, Worcs. ~90m asl.

On 12 Dec 2006 04:40:24 -0800, "TheOneKEA"
wrote:



snip



The magnetic readers are still in situ and still in use at all LU
stations. A standard magnetic ODTC will work the gates just fine.

Make that:

'Most gates appear to have magnetic-strip readers, but an annoyingly
large number of times they will fail to pull in the card'.

On 12-Dec-2006, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

And Oyster cards ARE valid everywhere within Greater London - just not
PAYG-only cards.

A PAYG Oyster doesn't work on suburban rail?
But weekly, monthly or other season tickets on an Oyster do?

TIA

Henry

Henry wrote:
On 12-Dec-2006, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

And Oyster cards ARE valid everywhere within Greater London - just not
PAYG-only cards.

A PAYG Oyster doesn't work on suburban rail?

Only on the interavailable routes, of which there are few.

But weekly, monthly or other season tickets on an Oyster do?

Yup. Oyster travelcards are the same as magnetic travelcards; the
packaging is the only difference.

On 12 Dec 2006 04:40:24 -0800, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

[snip explanation]

*cue Paul Corfield*

I think you've done perfectly well without me ;-)
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Paul Corfield wrote:
On 12 Dec 2006 04:40:24 -0800, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

[snip explanation]

*cue Paul Corfield*

I think you've done perfectly well without me ;-)

Well, if you say so..... ;-)

"Henry" typed



On 12-Dec-2006, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

And Oyster cards ARE valid everywhere within Greater London - just not
PAYG-only cards.

A PAYG Oyster doesn't work on suburban rail?
But weekly, monthly or other season tickets on an Oyster do?

Correct, unfortunatetely.

Since Oyster is 'capped' at 50p below the cost of a One Day TravelCard,
ut's worth using Oyster if you're not using rail, and buying a paper
ODTC in advance if you are.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.