Boundary Zone tickets on SWR smartcard

[talldave]

Is it possible to load/use Boundary Zone singles and returns on an SWR smartcard, where the named station is an SWR smartcard enabled one?

My concerns are: does it cope with such journeys having only 1 tap (at the named station only, either as destination or starting point)? And if there was a problem loading such a ticket, would a tap trigger a £25 incomplete Tap2Go journey charge?

 

[yorkie]

I thought a major point of smart card ticketing was to avoid the need to do this, and for extension fares to be charged automatically? Edit: of course, that would only apply if using the card within the relevant PAYG area.

Where are you travelling to, and what product is already held on the smart card?

There is also a thread here:

Travelcard on both Oyster and Touch Smartcard

I have bought a Zones 2-5 travelcard on my Oyster, so that on the odd occasion I do travel into Zone 1, I can access PAYG fares on the Underground etc. Is it possible to have the same travelcard also loaded onto my SWR Touch Smartcard, so that when travelling outside the Oyster fares zones, I...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Haywain]

Is it possible to load/use Boundary Zone singles and returns on an SWR smartcard, where the named station is an SWR smartcard enabled one?

My concerns are: does it cope with such journeys having only 1 tap (at the named station only, either as destination or starting point)? And if there was a problem loading such a ticket, would a tap trigger a £25 incomplete Tap2Go journey charge?

Do you hold a Travelcard on the smartcard?

 

[talldave]

Do you hold a Travelcard on the smartcard?

No - I don’t have the smartcard yet (and may not bother if it's going to be awkwardness central!).

Looking at options for a commute in conjunction with a 60+ Oyster, hence the sudden Boundary Zone interest - I don’t want a life of stepping back at Feltham. Plus, of course, morning trips might have to be split Anytime single/60+ Oyster around 9:30.

 

[Watershed]

No - I don’t have the smartcard yet (and may not bother if it's going to be awkwardness central!).

Looking at options for a commute in conjunction with a 60+ Oyster, hence the sudden Boundary Zone interest - I don’t want a life of stepping back at Feltham. Plus, of course, morning trips might have to be split Anytime single/60+ Oyster around 9:30.

Tickets to/from Feltham, or whichever other boundary station you pass through, would usually cost the same and are equally valid in combination with a 60+ Oyster card. That applies whether the train stops there or not - not that there are any trains currently scheduled to run through non-stop.

The only real reason to buy a Boundary Zone ticket over a ticket to a specific station is that the former may give you more flexibility on the routes you can take, for example if you're travelling from somewhere like Guildford or Effingham Junction to London.

 

[Haywain]

No - I don’t have the smartcard yet (and may not bother if it's going to be awkwardness central!).

Looking at options for a commute in conjunction with a 60+ Oyster, hence the sudden Boundary Zone interest - I don’t want a life of stepping back at Feltham. Plus, of course, morning trips might have to be split Anytime single/60+ Oyster around 9:30.

In which case I'd advise against mixing smartcards. If you want an extension ticket (from a Boundary Zone or a named station) just buy a paper ticket or eTicket and keep things simple.

 

[drueberflug]

No - I don’t have the smartcard yet (and may not bother if it's going to be awkwardness central!).

I would say you might want to stick to Boundary Zone paper tickets (or e-tickets when available) in this case, where you would not need to worry about Tap2Go or anything.
However, getting the smartcard doesn't mean that you are automatically registered for SWR's PAYG service, and if you were to make two taps with a PAYG-enabled card with a Boundary Zone ticket on it, you might still be charged.

Journeys between the origin and destination stations of your pre-purchased ticket will not be charged, but a journey outside of them will be charged through Tap2Go.

 

[talldave]

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like e-tickets could be the way to go. The Avanti site is certainly super-straightforward for buying BZ6 tickets, sadly the Forum's site is not quite so simple, particularly on a phone. I could use Feltham paper tickets, but I'm a bit of a pedant for having the "right" ticket!!

The juggling flexibility of paper tickets around my 9:30 time restriction makes me dread their ultimate demise, despite being a techie who loves techie solutions!

 

[Watershed]

I could use Feltham paper tickets, but I'm a bit of a pedant for having the "right" ticket!!

It's not really "the" right ticket though - the Feltham and Boundary Zone 6 tickets are equally valid from a legal perspective.

 

[drueberflug]

It's not really "the" right ticket though - the Feltham and Boundary Zone 6 tickets are equally valid from a legal perspective.

I mean, the Feltham ticket would constrict one to a route via Feltham instead of getting to choose whether to go via Feltham or the GWML on certain routes, such as from Southampton.
However, it'd be a valid ticket nonetheless.

 

[talldave]

It's not really "the" right ticket though - the Feltham and Boundary Zone 6 tickets are equally valid from a legal perspective.

Fair point. I think I'm prejudiced against the point to point ticket because I was trying to find a smartcard solution and I imagined it would all go pear shaped if I wasn't tapping in at Feltham. Maybe that would work, I don’t know. I find SWR's website severely lacking in terms of telling potential users how it operates in day to day use.