"Fig" wrote in message newsp.uslatb1c3qplm1@dell...
On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:48:52 +0100, Mizter T wrote:


On Apr 12, 11:42 am, wrote:
Hi there,
Done some travelling on an old familiar route ( Central Station to NLL
station) and noticed some fare changes. Apologies in advance if this
is old news.

I presume by "Central Station" you mean the Central line station at
Shepherd's Bush, and by "NLL station" you actually mean Shepherd's
Bush station on the West London Line (WLL). In which case it can't be
*that* old and familiar a route as Shepherd's Bush WLL station only
opened in September '08!


South Ruislip / Greenford ( Central Line) to Camden Road ( NLL / LO)
is now a £2.20 fare and is classified as a via Z1 journey irrespective
of which route you take. When did this increase take place ? I know
that Greenford - Camden Road ( via NLL/LO) used to be £1.10 back in
February.

I don't think it ever did cost £1.10 i.e. I don't think it has ever
been defined as a non-Z1 fare. There were lots of discussions on this
issue here back in February specifically discussing fares from the
western end of the Central line to Camden Road via the WLL/NLL, and
the Oyster PAYG fares for these journeys all presumed a via z1 route.

Incidentally there's some unfinished business in those conversations
that I intend to revisit - unfortunately things came up back then
which meant I just didn't have the time to properly conclude some of
those discussions, so some of the issues were unsatisfactorily left
hanging in the air unresolved. I want to go back and clear them up.


Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be the way to use the
S. Ruislip - Camden Rd via Shepherds Bush (LO) route and get the
system to recognise that you have not transgressed into Z1 hence
allowing one to benefit from a zone 2-6 (£3.00) cap. Some months back
it was suggested to me to alight at White City and then walk through
Westfield Shopping Centre to Shepherd's Bush London Overground and
resume my journey from there. The alternative was to touch in at a pad
at Willesden Junction to tray to convince the system that I am not
going through Z1. However, I have noticed today that South Ruislip /
Greenford to Willesden Junction is also a £2.20 fare ( via Z1) so this
method will not apply. My only option seems to be to stagger the main
journey into several sub-journeys as previously advised.

Yes, the way to do it is to break your journey at White City/
Shepherd's Bush WLL - i.e. exit White City Central line station and
walk to Shepherd's Bush WLL station. (Merely touching in on a
standalone reader at Willesden Jn won't work.) You will obviously get
charged two separate fares for these two journeys, but you'll also be
eligible for the z2-6 cap (pretty good value at £3 off-peak with the
Railcard discount!).

Note that the Oyster PAYG system is going to be upgraded shortly in
connection with it being rolled out on National Rail - this upgrade
will mean that it will be capable of recognising that different fares
are available between stations (at the moment it can only deal with
there being one fare between any pair of stations). When this happens
then it should largely resolve this particular issue at Shepherd's
Bush, and provide a potential way of resolving any other such issues
that may occur in the future when all NR routes start accepting Oyster
PAYG.

I'm still of the opinion that if you are travelling from the Western
reaches of the Central line to Camden Road and wish to avoid a zone 1
fare, then you should forget about going anywhere near Shepherd's Bush.
Bus 266 from North Acton to Willesden Junction is what I recommend.

--
Fig
Or even walk North Acton to Willesden Junc. (considering a walk from Whire
City to Shepherds bush is suggested).

Kevin

Kevin