Oyster Help

[NSE]

Evening all, Just a quick one:

Bought an Oyster card recently, and so far have only used it on buses. This coming Monday I'm off for a dayout in London and instead of buying a travelcard as well as my return to London am I right in thinking I can use my Oyster Card in the same fashion as a travelcard until I reach the £7.50 limit when it then doesn't charge me as I've hit the price for a travelcard? (Which will also only be £5 when I get round to pre-loading my 16-25). I've read and re-read the TFL website but its so confusing :L

Any help much appreciated
Thaaaaaanks!

 

[Mojo]

At the risk of complicating matters:

Simple answer - yes

Complicated answer - yes, but only if you ensure you touch in and out at the start and end of every DLR, rail or Tube journey that you make, even after reaching the cap, and also ensure that you don't get caught out when making an out of station interchange.

If you are travelling as an enthusiast (slight generalisation here but I can't think of a better way to put it) as opposed to going from A to B and then exiting the station, then you will be better off with a paper Travelcard. You can buy these with a 1625 Railcard discount from a Tube Pom or from a BR station and they cost £5, the same as a Zone 1-6 price cap on Oyster. You may also be better off, depending on the price by buying an out-boundary Travelcard. I don't know what the nearest station to you in Cambourne is (is it Cambridge?) so I can't advise on prices, but it's easy enough to check for yourself.

 

[NSE]

I will be going from Cambridge yes. I was just going to buy the travelcard but thought I have my oyster might as well use it! I'm not going from an enthiusiasts point of view, actually starting my chrismas shopping haha bad I know, so really just tube and from that all I do is just touch in and out at the ticket barriers as per usual? Can I put my 16-25 onto my oyster online?

 

[Mojo]

I will be going from Cambridge yes. I was just going to buy the travelcard but thought I have my oyster might as well use it! I'm not going from an enthiusiasts point of view, actually starting my chrismas shopping haha bad I know, so really just tube and from that all I do is just touch in and out at the ticket barriers as per usual? Can I put my 16-25 onto my oyster online?

No but you can do it at any LU or LOROL ticket office, and selected BR ticket offices. Your card will need to be registered and if this is not already pick up a form and fill it in (ideally before you get to the window). So if you're arriving into Kings + or Liverpool Street get it done at the LU ticket office there, before you travel by Tube/bus.

Note that from January the Railcard enabled Oyster card will also get you discounts on single Tube tickets as well as daily capping and BR journeys.

 

[NSE]

Alright then, I've had a brief browse and I'm thinking a return from Cambridge to Liverpool Street as its cheaper (I'm travelling at leisure rather than for speed so I don't always do that route) and then attempt to load my Oyster Card with 16-25 if I can't be bothered to queue then I'll just travelcard it for a fiver.
Thanks for your help mate!

 

[MikeWh]

If all you are doing is making a pair of zone 1 tube journeys then a travelcard is over the top. Each journey is £1.80 on oyster versus a zone 1-2 travelcard at £5.60 which would be reduced to £5 with a railcard. If you might do more than two tube journeys then the travelcard becomes more relevant. If you do use your oystercard then the cap applied will depend on the number of zones used (unless you have the railcard discount). Stay within zones 1-2 and it's £5.60, venture out to zone 3 or 4 and it becomes £6.30, it's only £7.50 if you use zones 5 and 6. With a railcard there is only one off-peak cap within zones 1-6 of £5.

 

[NSE]

Ok, god I find the whole Oyster System so confusing! basically I'll be going from Cambridge to a London Terminus, It'll be an any route, then travelling around London. Oxford Street, Camden, Westfield at Shepherds Bush the usual shopping stuff, then back home on my Cambridge ticket. So therefore aslong as I touch in and out at every required point it'll only cost me £7.50 or £5 if I get my railcard on?

Also, say I'm travelling from Wood Lane to Camden, would I need to touch out at KGX subsurface line, and then back in on the Northern platform, or just in at Wood Lane and then out at Camden?

 

[W-on-Sea]

Also, say I'm travelling from Wood Lane to Camden, would I need to touch out at KGX subsurface line, and then back in on the Northern platform, or just in at Wood Lane and then out at Camden?

The barriers between the subsurface and tube lines were removed as part of the endless renovation of KXSP a few years ago now, so you can go straight from one line to another without needing to pass through any barriers (not that going through them incurred a charge when they did exist, and were used as part of a through journey) .

 

[NSE]

The barriers between the subsurface and tube lines were removed as part of the endless renovation of KXSP a few years ago now, so you can go straight from one line to another without needing to pass through any barriers (not that going through them incurred a charge when they did exist, and were used as part of a through journey) .

Oh I know you can go between them without going through barriers, its like that all way across the network, with the only exception being the two different sets of platforms at Paddington. I have seen Oyster Validators on Platforms and didn't know if I had to use these.

 

[MikeWh]

Ok, god I find the whole Oyster System so confusing! basically I'll be going from Cambridge to a London Terminus, It'll be an any route, then travelling around London. Oxford Street, Camden, Westfield at Shepherds Bush the usual shopping stuff, then back home on my Cambridge ticket. So therefore aslong as I touch in and out at every required point it'll only cost me £7.50 or £5 if I get my railcard on?

That doesn't look like you're leaving zones 1 and 2 so it will only be £5.60, or £5 if the railcard discount is activated.

Also, say I'm travelling from Wood Lane to Camden, would I need to touch out at KGX subsurface line, and then back in on the Northern platform, or just in at Wood Lane and then out at Camden?

You shouldn't need to touch out and in at Kings Cross, but if you get to the concourse by mistake there is an OSI between the different gatelines so it will still be treated as one journey.

Oh I know you can go between them without going through barriers, its like that all way across the network, with the only exception being the two different sets of platforms at Paddington. I have seen Oyster Validators on Platforms and didn't know if I had to use these.

You shouldn't need to. Platform validators are either because the station is ungated, or if they are pink then it's a route setting touch to show you've avoided zone 1. I don't think either scenario applies to you.

Good Luck!

 

[NSE]

Oh I know my way around the system not to get lost haha. Right Thanks for all your help guys should be all set providing no snow intervenes!

 

[robbob700]

With a railcard there is only one off-peak cap within zones 1-6 of £5.

No - if you have a railcard loaded on your oyster you get a third off all the off-peak caps. The caps are therefore (2010 rates)

£3.70 Zones 1-2
£4.15 Zones 1-4
£5.00 Zones 1-6
£3.35 Zones 2-6 (also cap for buses only)

See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/17352.aspx

 

[MikeWh]

So you do. That is the one place where the cap differs from the travelcard, because I'm sure that you have to pay £5 for any travelcard (up to 1-6) with a railcard. Certainly it is true for family and friends, which of course is the one you can't load on an oyster.

 

[robbob700]

Yes - that's correct. A paper travelcard with a railcard is £5 for Zones 1-6 and there is no discount on other zone combinations.