On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:46:46 -0800 (PST), Mr Thant wrote:

(Or is the quote from you nothing to do with PAYG on Southeastern and
I'm leaping pessimistically to unintended conclusions?)
Well lets see. All of the North London TOCs have embraced PAYG in some
way, so we can count those in. SWT are legally bound by the January
2009 date, although ITSO may complicate this. Southern already accept
it on their WLL services, and their franchise is up in 2009 anyway.
That makes the most likely footdragger as...

....the TOC operating the last franchise let out before the government
started specifying Oyster PAYG acceptance in the franchise contracts?

....the TOC with the least possible competition from TfL[1], covering
as it does the part of London occupied primarily by the Key on
TfL-operated railway maps?

....the franchise that replied with a mixture of outright lies and
bizarre leaps of logic when I lobbied them on this matter a couple
of years ago?

Surely not!

Actually this is somewhat a matter of principle rather than actual
importance to me these days - my wife has a Z3-6 annual travelcard for
work so I get a £4.80 all-zones off-peak travelcard, which is cheaper
than anything PAYG would offer me (it hasn't risen in years - what on
earth are they thinking? it's great!), when I'm travelling with her.
PAYG would be useful for her, though, especially when she wants to get
into Z1 after work on Southeastern but travel home again along a
different Southeastern line - at the moment she goes a fair bit of the
way home and then gets a return from there to avoid paying a lot more
for the two singles!

Apologies for taking this thread several miles off topic.

Paul

[1] What a coincidence that all the TOCs in the half of London well
served by PAYG-accepting tube and Overground lines (north of the Thames)
should have started accepting PAYG earlier than the deadline.