Oyster on National Rail Usage

[leshuttle]

It would be interesting to know how much the usage of Oyster has gone up since full introduction of Oyster PayG on National Rail in London nearly six months in. I only ask as it seems to me that there's still alot of paper ticket users around who maybe don't know they could user Oyster.

Even before PayG I used a season Travel Card on my Oyster travelling on the fast service to/from Bromley and Victoria. Perhaps it's just me (young male) but I get the sense some train guards act a little suspiciously the moment they realise you're one of the few customers without a paper ticket but an Oyster. Most often if they use the hand-held reader device they'll in addition seek verbal clarification of your destination; perhaps in the slight anticipation that you might be on the wrong train or think Oyster is valid nationwide! :roll:

 

[jon0844]

An awful lot of people do get stopped for trying to use an Oyster card well outside Z6.

 

[Aictos]

An awful lot of people do get stopped for trying to use an Oyster card well outside Z6.

This is true as explained many times that you can't use it at Hertford North.

 

[jon0844]

We all know people don't read signs and posters, and the problem with saying you can now use Oyster PAYG on National Rail is that people will presume it works on the whole route. Some will be trying it on, but I do believe that many are making an innocent mistake.

Some posters, when read from a distance, would suggest PAYG is now accepted full stop - only the smaller print says otherwise.

 

[philjo]

I only ask as it seems to me that there's still alot of paper ticket users around who maybe don't know they could user Oyster.

Many of the users of the paper tickets are probably travelling on business.
When I go in to London for work purposes I still need to use a paper ticket as there is no mechanism to reclaim the fares from work if I use my Oyster PAYG - I have to submit a printed receipt or the original rail ticket to the accounts office in order to reclaim the fares. Therefore depending on where I am going I always get a London travelcard or to London zones 1&2 which for meetings would normally be a peak ticket.
If I travel at weekends for leisure trips, then I would use PAYG (or buy a travelcard with my gold card discount depending in how many trips I am likely to make as you can't get the discount on the oyster yet).

 

[Mojo]

Or they might be using paper tickets to avoid getting scammed by Oyster and having to call up for a refund.

 

[clagmonster]

Regarding claiming Oyster on expenses. Would your employer not except a printout of an Oyster statement? If you have a registed card, this can be obtained by going to the journey history page in you Oyster internet account, but if not registered, and even if it is this alternative is easier to read, fill out this form:
https://custserv.tfl.gov.uk/icss_csip/ZCreateRequestChangeRelatesTo.do?newTab=CA_13720

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Regarding claiming Oyster on expenses. Would your employer not except a printout of an Oyster statement?

Not really likely; the law requires an actual receipt to be provided; this is especially true of companies which also have a listing on Wall Street as they have to comply with especially tight accounting regulations known as SOX ( Sarbanes-Oxley ).

Any claim without a receipt will quite simply not be accepted.

 

[Capybara]

So a receipt is more proof that I have paid for a journey than a printout which actually shows that I have both made the journey and paid for it? And accounting standards say that if someone needs to travel on works business between two Zone 1 underground stations, then they must pay £4 so they can get a receipt when they could have saved their employer £2.20 by using their Oyster Card? Bonkers.

 

[jon0844]

Yup, that is what I'd have to do (get a single) even though I have a season ticket!

 

[ert47]

As Im a uni student under the age of 25 (and not eligible for student oyster =/), I end up buying a paper travelcard using my YP railcard whenever I travel instead of using my oyster. As its cheaper. I've only just recently learned that you can load the railcard onto oysters, but it seems like too much effort, so I'll stick to paper tickets for now

 

[ashworth]

What is the correct situation regarding charging for Oyster Card journeys on National Rail betwen midnight and 4am. If using an Oyster Card on more than two consecutive days are these journeys added to the previous day or the next days travel.

The reason I ask is that a few weeks ago I was in London for a week and did a number of journeys in the early hours. On 2 days I reached my price cap when travelling at about 8pm in the evening and all subsequent journeys by tube and bus including those after midnight were not charged for. However, everytime I did a journey by National Rail after midnight I was charged for it. It then did not appear to be included in the following days price cap travel.

 

[bicbasher]

My employer allows me to claim on Oyster PAYG journeys by getting a Oyster Usage Statement which you can get from a LUL or Overground ticket office.

 

[RJ]

What is the correct situation regarding charging for Oyster Card journeys on National Rail betwen midnight and 4am. If using an Oyster Card on more than two consecutive days are these journeys added to the previous day or the next days travel.

The reason I ask is that a few weeks ago I was in London for a week and did a number of journeys in the early hours. On 2 days I reached my price cap when travelling at about 8pm in the evening and all subsequent journeys by tube and bus including those after midnight were not charged for. However, everytime I did a journey by National Rail after midnight I was charged for it. It then did not appear to be included in the following days price cap travel.

An Oyster day starts at 04:30 and finishes at 04:29. If you have been overcharged, you should ring the Oyster helpline.