Stratford - Kew Gardens - Cheapest Way

[319321]

I am looking to make a journey from Stratford - Kew Gardens as cheaply as possible. What do forum members suggest?

(I suspect the answer is the North London line, but I am not sure, and am also not sure of how the fare is calculated.

I have an Oyster card and a contactless card.

 

[yorkie]

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/single-fare-finder

£1.70 peak, or £1.50 off-peak is the default fare, and through trains are available.

Providing you do not go through any gatelines, the system can't do anything other than charge you the default fare, so feel free to go via London Underground, if you like.

Unless a discount is loaded, I'd always use contactless over Oyster.

 

[185143]

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/single-fare-finder

£1.70 peak, or £1.50 off-peak is the default fare, and through trains are available.

Providing you do not go through any gatelines, the system can't do anything other than charge you the default fare, so feel free to go via London Underground, if you like.

Unless a discount is loaded, I'd always use contactless over Oyster.

Why would you use contactless over Oyster?

 

[319321]

I am a disabled adult railcard holder. Can I load that on to my Oyster?

 

[MikeWh]

I am a disabled adult railcard holder. Can I load that on to my Oyster?

Absolutely. Just ask the staff near the ticket machines at Stratford, or even at the TfL-Rail ticket office.

 

[yorkie]

Why would you use contactless over Oyster?

Not specifically in this case, but in general.

For an example reason, see http://londonist.com/2016/06/oyster-fares-and-contactless-not-always-the-same-price

...It's publicised that if you use contactless to pay for travel in London, it's the same price as using an Oyster card. But it's not always the case. We went out onto the tube, and made identical journeys using the two different methods of payment to prove what happens, and show you why the fares are different.


Thanks to Mike Whitaker and his website Oyster Rail, which is full of invaluable information on payment and fares....

And another reason is that no-one knows where you tapped in, which means if you are doing a journey that happens to be the fastest (or, for any other reason, a desirable or required) route, you don't end up in an argument with inspectors as to whether or not it's permitted. OK, such an argument is unlikely, but there have been incidents, and using Contactless avoids any prospect of such discussions.

 

[Busaholic]

I just tried putting in West Ham to Kew Gardens on the District Line on Farefinder and that's £3.30 peak, £2.80 offpeak. What a jungle!

 

[yorkie]

I just tried putting in West Ham to Kew Gardens on the District Line on Farefinder and that's £3.30 peak, £2.80 offpeak. What a jungle!

If you tap the pink reader at Stratford, you will be charged £1.70 peak / £1.5 peak.

The website does mention this:

Avoiding Zone 1 via Stratford

Peak: £1.70 Monday to Friday from 0630 to 0930 and from 1600 to 1900.

Off Peak: £1.50 At all other times including public holidays.

To ensure you are charged the appropriate fare you must touch on the pink card reader if interchanging at Stratford

If you fail to do so, the system will assume you took a direct service, and will charge you the higher fare you quoted, which is the default fare for that particular flow and assumes you travel via Zone 1.

Hopefully it makes sense now?

(Understanding Oyster/Contactless fares can be tricky at times. If there's sufficient interest, we could hold another Oyster (& Contactless) fares workshop. It's been years since the last one!)

 

[319321]

Thanks for your help.

 

[londonbridge]

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/single-fare-finder

£1.70 peak, or £1.50 off-peak is the default fare, and through trains are available.

Providing you do not go through any gatelines, the system can't do anything other than charge you the default fare, so feel free to go via London Underground, if you like.

Unless a discount is loaded, I'd always use contactless over Oyster.

Was going to ask about this, last Saturday I had some business in Richmond first thing, before going over to Stratford and the match against West Ham. As I had plenty of time I purposefully took the NLL in order to avoid zone 1, when in fact I could have gone district line to central London and changed onto the jubilee and would still have been charged £1.50, yes?

 

[yorkie]

Was going to ask about this, last Saturday I had some business in Richmond first thing, before going over to Stratford and the match against West Ham. As I had plenty of time I purposefully took the NLL in order to avoid zone 1, when in fact I could have gone district line to central London and changed onto the jubilee and would still have been charged £1.50, yes?

For Richmond to Stratford (specifically) then yes if you don't tap on any intermediate readers it will be the default £1.50 fare off-peak.

The system doesn't track you, other than where you tap your card.