Oyster advice for London - 19th August 2013

[ValleyLines142]

Morning all,

I just wanted to ask a question regarding Oyster cards.

My friend told me that if you have say £10 on your card as an example and you use the tube for four times at £2.10 for a single (£8.40 total), then after this the Oyster automatically turns into a day card once it reaches the standard adult travelcard price of £7.30. Is this correct?

I'm planning on going on the Emirates Cable Car on 19th August and I know you can use Oyster Cards on there so I may get one.

It is also good as a single on the tube/DLR is £4.50, but only £2.10 with an Oyster!

With regards to getting one, am I right in thinking you have to pay £5 to get a card, then you have to put £5 on it, so that's £10 altogether, right? Or is it just £5 to put on first?


Another query I want to know is: Is there an 0525 departure to Paris from St Pancras on the Eurostar for 20th August? We've caught this train every year as it's the first train out which gets to Paris at 0850, but it doesn't seem to be showing on the timetable!

Thanks in advance!

 

[transmanche]

My friend told me that if you have say £10 on your card as an example and you use the tube for four times at £2.10 for a single (£8.40 total), then after this the Oyster automatically turns into a day card once it reaches the standard adult travelcard price of £7.30. Is this correct?

There are Oyster PAYG 'price caps'. The cap applied depends on a) the time of day you use the card and b) which zones you use it in. A Z1-2 Off-Peak Travelcard costs £7.30, the equivalent price cap on Oyster PAYG is £7.00 (an extra saving of 30p!). You still need to touch in and touch out after being 'capped'.

See the TfL website for details.

I'm planning on going on the Emirates Cable Car on 19th August and I know you can use Oyster Cards on there so I may get one.

You can use Oyster PAYG on the Air Line; but it is not included in (and does not count towards) any price cap.

 

[maniacmartin]

You need a £5 deposit in addition to any credit you want to put on the card. The deposit is returned if the Oyster card is returned.

Whilst the price cap for most people is virtually the same as a day Travelcard, technically it is not. It can't be used for 19(c) splits and you are still liable for maximum cash fares if you forget to touch out. You also still need to touch in and out, even if your journey will be free, unlike a day Travelcard.

If you hold a railcard, then you can get this loaded onto the Oyster card when you buy it, and you will get a reduction on the off peak fares and the off peak cap. See MikeWh's site for more ifnormation

 

[island]

A day Travelcard also can't be used for 19(c) splits.

 

[lemonic]

A day Travelcard also can't be used for 19(c) splits.

It can if another ticket is a season ticket.

e.g. An Ipswich to Romford season ticket + a Zones 1-6 Day travelcard is valid from Ipswich to London Liverpool St on trains that don't stop at Romford. An Ipswich to Romford season ticket + an Oyster card that has reached the daily cap isn't.

 

[transmanche]

It can if another ticket is a season ticket.

But of no relevance to the OP...

 

[ValleyLines142]

So is it worth getting an Oyster Card, or is just easier to continue using paper Travelcards?

I know about tapping in and out; I find it quite sophisticated! :P

When I get to Paddington ticket office, do I ask for an Oyster card, which I then put £5 on, in addition to say £5 I want again. I don't understand the section about deposit being returned. Is that if I no longer want the Oyster card? So effectively it is like insurance in a way??

 

[Deerfold]

You need a £5 deposit in addition to any credit you want to put on the card. The deposit is returned if the Oyster card is returned.

Whilst the price cap for most people is virtually the same as a day Travelcard, technically it is not. It can't be used for 19(c) splits and you are still liable for maximum cash fares if you forget to touch out. You also still need to touch in and out, even if your journey will be free, unlike a day Travelcard.

If you hold a railcard, then you can get this loaded onto the Oyster card when you buy it, and you will get a reduction on the off peak fares and the off peak cap. See MikeWh's site for more ifnormation

And a PAYG Oyster card can be transferred between people (for use at different times) even if the cap has been reached.

 

[maniacmartin]

When I get to Paddington ticket office, do I ask for an Oyster card, which I then put £5 on, in addition to say £5 I want again.

Just ask for an Oyster card with £5 credit, and hand over £10

The £5 deposit is not part of the balance and can't be used to make journeys, but you do get it back if you return the card (though nowadays you need proof of address or something)

 

[bb21]

Another function of the deposit is to prevent people from running up negative balances and discarding the card. You only need to have enough money for the minimum fare from your origin station on the card to be let into the system, so if you go further then you can end up with negative balances. If the card were free then it can become a loophole where people run up negative balances and just throw the card away, buying a new one next time.

 

[NewForest]

A day Travelcard also can't be used for 19(c) splits.

I don't think that's quite right. It was concluded in another recent thread One Day Travelcards and Split Ticketing that One Day Travelcards CAN be used in conjunction with a Boundary Zone extension ticket, under an exception to the NRCoC 19 rules:

...a quote from the Fares Manual (NFM) extract provided by bb21 in post #9 in this thread is worth repeating for its unambiguous clarity:

Combination of Tickets

Day Travelcards can be used in combination with Boundary Zone tickets for journeys which extend beyond the London Fare Zones boundary, whether or not the train calls at the point where the ticket holder changes from one ticket to the other. When used in combination with a point-to-point ticket, the train must call at the station where the ticket holder changes from one ticket to the other.

Here is a direct link to the source of the above quote - a file attachment provided by bb21: NFM 15 Travelcards - Print friendly.pdf

I had hoped that my ODTC question was resolved, but if there's any more to say on this I suggest doing so on the One Day Travelcards and Split Ticketing thread, rather than divert this one from the OP's question.

 

[bb21]

I don't think that's quite right. It was concluded in another recent thread One Day Travelcards and Split Ticketing that One Day Travelcards CAN be used in conjunction with a Boundary Zone extension ticket, under an exception to the NRCoC 19 rules:

I think there might be some confusion.

A Day Travelcard plus a Boundary Zone ticket is not a 19(c) split. It is either a 19(a) split if they are both treated as zonal tickets (as some people might argue) or that the Boundary Zone fare is some sort of "excess fare" (as others might argue).

A 19(c) split is where one is a season ticket and the other(s) not. I think island was referring to the fact that a Day Travelcard cannot be used in conjunction with a point-to-point ticket as a 19(c) split as the train would still, in theory, need to call at the changeover point. Of course, a Day Travelcard can be used with a season ticket in a 19(c) split. In addition a Travelcard season would obviously be fine if combined with a point-to-point single/return ticket in a 19(c) split.

Of course in reality it is all academic whether something is a 19(c) or 19(a) split as long as it is a valid one.

 

[causton]

Regarding the OP's question: if you want to get around quickly just the once, get a paper travelcard.
You get the discounted Emirates Air Line Cable Car Dangleway fare with a paper travelcard too from the TVMs/ticket offices (on the TVMs when I went it was under 'Railcards' but that was the first day so it may be easier to find now!) and you have to fill out a form to register the card first before you can get the concession listed on your Oyster.
And you don't need to worry about spending too long in the system for whatever reason (finding a rare train that you want to travel on, taking photos on the concourse of a station for too long etc) as if you stay touched in too long it will consider the journey 'incomplete' and give you a maximum fare!