Forum Topic

Oyster Pay As You Go query

With the Greenford line atations being added one can now travel from a Zone 1 tube station to West Ealing changing at Ealing Broadway (no barriers) for the single fare of £2.50.However would this still hold true if the change was made at Paddington Station where presumably the new barriers "break" the journey?  Would this be a double fare?   Anyone tried this yet?

Philip Coe ● 6568d19 Comments

Have been trying to use the Greenford Line legally for two years. No one who works for LU, TfL, GW or anyone else can tell me how you buy a ticket when starting your journey at Castlebar Park.I assume that by these stations being "added" - you mean they will have oyster touch stations?

Piero Vitelli ● 6568d

If it's like West Hampstead - where you have to touch out of the North London Line and then in a few yards away down West End Lane at the Jubilee line, it doesn't make any difference by the time you get to your destination - although I think it looks as if it might as you touch in the second time.I imagine Paddington will work the same way.

Sara Nathan ● 6568d

Transfers at Paddington are treated as one journey according to my wife. I assume there might be a time limit to complete the transfer else it might be considered a separate journey.If other journeys are made the same day, eg a return journey, then the fare will be capped at the daily Oyster rate for those zones anyway.That's why it's so important to touch-out even when the gates are open else Oyster will assume you've made a zone 6 or beyond journey because it doesn't have the termination zone. That also the reason there are Oyster readers on the platforms at Ealing Broadway for National/Underground users changing from one ticketing system to the other.

Alan Brainsby ● 6568d

Sara/Alan,Thanks for the info.Piero,I don't know about Castlebar but certainly West Ealing now has Oyster card reader so I suspect the whole line to Grennford is similary equiped.

Philip Coe ● 6567d

You should be able to get the official answer without going round the houses by calling 0845 330 9876 then options 1 + 5 for customer service

Keith Clarke ● 6567d

As a matter of interest is the Oyster system a British development or did Tfl buy it in from abroad?

Peter Wright ● 6566d

TFL began working on a 'pre pay system' circa 1991.  I believe the current company is Prestige and they may well be British, the contract is up for retendering. The back end system - software is SAP which is certainly global but with offices in the UK. There are a number of journeys where you need to touch in and out twice including the Hammersmiths, Wood Lane & White City and Shepherd's Bush Overground and Underground. The time limit between the two sets of gates is 15 minutes.

Libby Kemp ● 6566d

The operating company may be British but the technology isn't - the oyster system is foreign, based on a widely used system from Netherlands. Unfortunately it is also probably flawed....Recently some very clever people have found a way to crack it - paving the way for possible cloning or illegal top-ups. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/06/mifare_hack_finally_published/

Niall Connolly ● 6566d

I suppose the original dutch system was developed for trams...

Alan Brainsby ● 6565d

Did the trip yesterday from Oxford Cicus to West Ealing, changing at Paddington on to National Rail - all for the fare of £2.50 (used to be £2.80 for the rail bit plus £1.50 zone one travel).So all counts as on journey which is good news for me - and perhaps others who use Oyster Pay as you Go from this area to a Zone 1 tube station.

Philip Coe ● 6564d

This will probably stir up a hornet's nest but I think the Oyster fares are good value.

Alan Brainsby ● 6564d

Why should it? they are a huge improvement because tfl wants us all to use Oyster cards. Seems a fair trade to me.

Sara Nathan ● 6564d

Some individuals seem to think London's fares are expensive compared to other large cities.What are bus fares in the provinces? I haven't been on a provincial bus for years.

Alan Brainsby ● 6564d

The pricing for Oyster fares is fair IMHO.The issue is the standard cash fare that gets applied if you don't have an oyster,  or if you do but fail to get the start/end of your journey registered properly. This is way too high.It doesn't effect Season ticket holders - but there are a lot of PAYG Oyster users out there and I've seen a lot of complaints that people have been stung unfairly for the full full cash ticket when they thought that they'd swiped their Oysters correctly. This also hits unwary tourists hard and cannot be a great experience for them as London is already very pricey.

Niall Connolly ● 6564d

Well certainly Oyster Ealing to Zone 1 at £2.50 is good value comapred to the cash fare of £4.00 for a Zone 1 trip, say Leicester Square to Covent garden (400 yards perhaps?)

Philip Coe ● 6564d

Better still a Zone 1 Journey during the weekend or after 19.00 is £2.00

Pete Gregory ● 6564d

It might be worth mentioning that PAYG is not much use for National Rail south of the Thames.But who'd want to go there anyway?

Alan Brainsby ● 6564d

www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tickets/oyster-payg-map.pdfA link to the London National Rail map where Oyster is accepted. As you say Alan, not much south of the river!

Pete Gregory ● 6564d

It's very slow in coming.Crystal Palace station is going to get Oyster validators in 2010/11. So the best way to travel around south London by National Rail is to use a one-day travelcard.This yet another example of this country's inability to do anything properly. Oyster should have been London-wide from day one. Does anyone remember it took 2 months after Oyster's introduction for the daily PAYG capping to be introduced?

Alan Brainsby ● 6564d