Stratford was moved to the Zone 2 / Zone 3 boundary some years ago.
I must get around to doing that some day, but generally I do short trips on the bus with my bus pass for free!
Indeed. "Long distance" journeys within London can be very good value due to this.
Indeed - journeys crossing Zone 1 are particularly good value when calculated on a "pence per mile" basis. Of course, given that this often means taking a triangular or otherwise indirect route, it's not quite as generous as it may seem at first glance.
Does that apply in any other part of the UK - that the way you pay affects the fare you pay?
Don’t think so, but cannot be certain. These fares are set by TfL and they introduced this differential many years ago, to encourage people to move to Oyster / contactless. As contactless is extended in the south east there may be other examples of a differential.
For the areas covered by the contactless extension (Project Oval), traditional ticket prices and PAYG prices are set equally.
Yes, I'm based in Bristol and Cardiff, and both areas have cheaper fares for pay as you go than for paper tickets or e-tickets.
I've certainly been educated tonight! I'll be more alert to this when visiting a new city, although if tap in/out's available I would use that regardless.
Indeed - as I recall, the Oyster fare is not valid on Southeastern highspeed.
Yes, £7.10 peak / £4.90 off-peak single from St Pancras International to Stratford International on Oyster / Contactless Southeastern High-speed until Saturday, then £7.40 / £5.10.
About 15 minutes provided the service hasn't been decimated by infrastructure issues that day.
Thanks, that's quick enough even allowing for the change from the Northern Line!
The daily caps are quite good for value packed whizzing around London. Use Oyster with a Railcard loaded and I believe the caps have 1/3 taken off too.