Bizarre and inconsistent ticket prices next year

[sibodkent]

I was looking at the Oyster PAYG scheme that is to be introduced next January, and looking up the sample prices TFL have, it seems Zone 6 to Zone 1 is slightly cheaper than cash fairs in some cases.

Bizarrely it's cheaper, on peak services, to go from Gravesend to Crayford, then crayford on PAYG to London, than it is to buy a single ticket for exactly the same route and train from Gravesend! It's the reverse off peak.

Crayford is the first station in Zone 6 on my part of the network:.

Checking on the set website I revealed a quick test:

Peak:
Gravesend to Crayford: Peak return:
£7.40
Crayford to London Charing Cross: £9.80 (cheapest)
Total: £17.2

Gravesend to London Charing Cross via Crayford return:
£18.

off peak

Gravesend to Cray-ford: £3.80
Cray-ford to London Charring Cross: £6.50
Total; £10.3

Gravesend to London Charring Cross: £9.30.

By comparison I looked at Swanely and St mary cray - that is as it should be:

Peak Returns
Swanley to Victoria: £10.60
Swanley to St Mary Cray: £3.60
St mary Cray to Victoria: £9.80
Total: £13.4

Off Peak Returns:
Swanley to Victoria (same line, one stop down): £7.90 Return

Swanley to St Mary Cray: £2.70 Return +
St mary Cray to Victoria: £6.50 Return (Oyster it's £6.40)
Total: £9.2


What on earth is going on here?

I also notice that the fair from Gravesend almost halves off-peak, but at Swanley it falls by a much more modest amount off-peak?

Why is it that if I get two separate tickets on the same journey ON THE SAME TRAIN! I get a cheaper fair than if I got a single continuous unbroken fair?

Likewise the reverse for peak?

Furthermore, TFL/SET are not allowing PAYG oyster from Stratford to St P. Why?

Someone should be shot!

[Richard Trevithick]

It's just one of those strange quirks of the ticketing system. My medium used to travel up to London on the Tonbridge mainline several years ago. She discovered the same thing, buy a standard return to Orpington from her home station, jump out and buy a paper travelcard in the ticket office and continue the journey would save her just over £1. Although a tiny saving, it's the whole principle!

I have heard a rumour that TfL / London Assembly subsidise transport within London? Perhaps this is why it's a fraction cheaper? If you normally buy a season ticket, it's definitely worth thinking about doing as it has the potential to save over £100/year. Beware though, the train you are travelling on has to stop at the station for this combination to be legal (in all senses of the word), and as it's Oyster PAYG, you have to jump out and touch in. I'm not sure how you would stand if you had a prepaid zone 1-6 Oyster season ticket though (and what the pricing is).

As for the Swanley example, you can't really compare going from there to the next station as because the distance is so short (1 stop) the price will be exponentially more expensive. You need to try it again from Longfield or Shoreham.

As for PAYG not being allowed StP to Stratford, my best guess is because HS1 is a "premium" service, it wouldn't be possible to charge the correct amount. As there are multiple routes between these 2 stations, you could be charged either too much or too little.


Speaking of strange charges, I've recently heard a rumour that the car parking charges are going to ROCKET in the new year. Most stations where it was once free will now be £3, even on Sundays. Maidstone is supposed to be one of the worst hit.
Is this a sign of how desperate they are to make ends meet with repaying the franchise? What with the fare increases and cut in services due to HS1, it's definitely not a charm attempt upon the travelling public!

RT