Fare discrepancy when not touching out after Zone 6 using contactless

[RunawayTrain]

I seem to have a fare anomaly which means I pay £2.30 more if I do not break my journey at Surbiton to touch out on the way home from Maida Vale underground to Woking. Easiest to illustrate using two slightly different days:

Monday - Woking to Surbiton 7.29am / Surbiton to Maida Vale via Waterloo 1146am / Maida Vale to Surbiton via Waterloo 142pm / Surbiton to Woking 641pm
Tickets purchased : Woking to Surbiton return £13.00 Contactless spend surbiton - waterloo - maida vale - waterloo - surbiton £11.60 - Total £24.60

Tuesday - Woking to Surbiton 7.29am / Surbiton to Maida Vale via Waterloo 1046am / Maida Vale to Woking via Waterloo 130pm
Tickets purchased : Woking to Surbiton return £13.00 Off peak day travelcard from Surbiton £13.90 - Total £26.90

Obviously I can't touch out at Surbiton on the return journey on Tuesday without breaking my journey, hence buying the travelcard option. Seems a little unfair that I'm charged more for not breaking my journey. I just wondered if anyone has any advice on how to overcome this or I just have to suck it up? Many thanks

 

[Watershed]

I seem to have a fare anomaly which means I pay £2.30 more if I do not break my journey at Surbiton to touch out on the way home from Maida Vale underground to Woking. Easiest to illustrate using two slightly different days:

Monday - Woking to Surbiton 7.29am / Surbiton to Maida Vale via Waterloo 1146am / Maida Vale to Surbiton via Waterloo 142pm / Surbiton to Woking 641pm
Tickets purchased : Woking to Surbiton return £13.00 Contactless spend surbiton - waterloo - maida vale - waterloo - surbiton £11.60 - Total £24.60

Tuesday - Woking to Surbiton 7.29am / Surbiton to Maida Vale via Waterloo 1046am / Maida Vale to Woking via Waterloo 130pm
Tickets purchased : Woking to Surbiton return £13.00 Off peak day travelcard from Surbiton £13.90 - Total £26.90

Obviously I can't touch out at Surbiton on the return journey on Tuesday without breaking my journey, hence buying the travelcard option. Seems a little unfair that I'm charged more for not breaking my journey. I just wondered if anyone has any advice on how to overcome this or I just have to suck it up? Many thanks

It's not really a discrepancy or an anomaly. It's just how the Oyster/contactless PAYG system works.

You can't expect to pay PAYG fares unless the system knows where your journey starts and ends. And at most stations that will mean breaking your journey and catching the next train.

 

[Haywain]

I just have to suck it up?

This.

 

[Starmill]

Presumably what you mean is that you don't want to take the time penalty of stepping back a train while you go to touch in or out at Surbiton on occasions when you don't have business in Surbiton? If so yes, if that's cheaper then you've really no choice but to step back a train while you touch in or out, if you want to make that saving.

At least the wait is unlikely to be a long one at Surbiton. It could be worse!

 

[RunawayTrain]

Thank you all for the advice. I'll continue taking the trains that are most convenient as the time penalty isn't worth it to me.

 

[Deerfold]

Is there any reason you wouldn't just buy a Woking - London Underground Zones 1-2 ticket at £23.50? Are you making more journeys?

 

[RunawayTrain]

Is there any reason you wouldn't just buy a Woking - London Underground Zones 1-2 ticket at £23.50? Are you making more journeys?

Thanks, but I can't see that fare - Trainline is showing £29.50? No other journeys...

 

[MikeWh]

Is there any reason you wouldn't just buy a Woking - London Underground Zones 1-2 ticket at £23.50? Are you making more journeys?

Does that work when starting at 7am?

 

[Deerfold]

Does that work when starting at 7am?

LNER looks happy to sell it to me from start of service. From the 0929 departure from Woking it sells the £21.50 off-peak ticket instead.

Destination needs to be typed as "London Zones 1-2" or "Zones 1-2".

I can't get the trainline to offer this fare. Nor northernrailway.co.uk. I made the daft assumption that this fare would appear on all systems, not just LNER (assuming they're going to sell the right ticket).

 

[ainsworth74]

Is there any reason you wouldn't just buy a Woking - London Underground Zones 1-2 ticket at £23.50? Are you making more journeys?

If you interrogate the details (click "View route & ticket details") that indicates that despite what you might have entered on the journey planner it's very much a Woking to London Terminals Anytime Day Return rather than a ticket with further validity on the Underground. Price matches up to on checking BR Fares.

 

[Deerfold]

If you interrogate the details (click "View route & ticket details") that indicates that despite what you might have entered on the journey planner it's very much a Woking to London Terminals Anytime Day Return rather than a ticket with further validity on the Underground. Price matches up to on checking BR Fares.

That seems very misleading.

 

[kieron]

Thank you all for the advice. I'll continue taking the trains that are most convenient as the time penalty isn't worth it to me.

There are a few cheaper options (a "via Wimbledon Park" return from Woking to zones 1-3 costs £22.90, for instance), but I don't know of any which would let you use the fast train from London.

Do you have a railcard? An off peak travelcard would still cost £13 with a Network Railcard, but it's worth it if you make eligible journeys reasonably often.

 

[RunawayTrain]

There are a few cheaper options (a "via Wimbledon Park" return from Woking to zones 1-3 costs £22.90, for instance), but I don't know of any which would let you use the fast train from London.

Do you have a railcard? An off peak travelcard would still cost £13 with a Network Railcard, but it's worth it if you make eligible journeys reasonably often.

Interesting - thank you. I reckon the few extra quid makes the fast train home worth it - 24 minutes and I'm back in Woking! As for the Network Railcard, I'm going to have a think about this. Sometimes I do leave Woking after 10am, so this may save in the long run.