TFL Travelcard and Capping Changes

[paul1609]

Is this now officially confirmed?

Believe that Epsom will get Oyster from next September which zone is still being discussed.

 

[67018]

It is not pleasant for anyone anywhere to have cars around, is it? In many places, there is no choice because the quality and usability of public transport is too low. It's breathtakingly naive to ask someone not to drive their car into London on a purely altruistic basis because: a) if someone drives a car, no matter where, no matter when, they will damage the environment and degrade, by at least some magnitude, the 'pleasantness' of where they are driving it, and b) if it is government policy to increase the price of public transport (check) and reduce the price of driving (check) - what do you think will start to happen?

Except that (b) is not the case - it's government policy to heavily subsidise the railways to the tune of 25% of the total cost, while heavily taxing driving mainly through fuel duty. Without these policies the road/rail spilt would be very different, to everyone's detriment.

There's an argument that the 25% figure should be higher and paid for by higher taxes on driving - but that's not a vote winner, the road lobby is powerful and noisy and there's an election on the way.

I also agree with the comment that some personal responsibility is necessary - just blaming the government is a cop out.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Except that (b) is not the case - it's government policy to heavily subsidise the railways to the tune of 25% of the total cost, while heavily taxing driving mainly through fuel duty. Without these policies the road/rail spilt would be very different, to everyone's detriment.

When making that comparison it would be fair to point out how much "subsidy" the road industry is given through free access to expensive infrastructure.

 

[67018]

When making that comparison it would be fair to point out how much "subsidy" the road industry is given through free access to expensive infrastructure.

A tricky argument this since road campaigners will argue that less is spent on roads than is raised in taxes on motoring.

This is often used by the road lobby to complain they are overtaxed, ignoring the much greater costs imposed on society and the environment.

Public transport is now much better appreciated than it used to be, but sadly has nothing like the clout of the legions of the outraged writing to the Daily Mail whenever petrol goes up.

 

[RJ]

Tried printing one of the new Bus & Tram passes earlier in the week and the print layout is still configured for pre-printed stock from when they were last available from NR Ticket Offices.

I'd assume the Group Day Travelcards are the same, despite it being a different product to the current Group Day Ticket.

Here's what the machine came out with. The Bus Pass appears to take the format of a rover and the Group Travelcard is a one day season. For the latter, the TIS didn't request a photocard number as it does with weekly seasons.

 

[causton]

Here's what the machine came out with. The Bus Pass appears to take the format of a rover and the Group Travelcard is a one day season. For the latter, the TIS didn't request a photocard number as it does with weekly seasons.

Which TIS software is this, sorry?

I would have loved to do the same myself but I am still under the watchful eye of a mentor

 

[PermitToTravel]

Not the same one you use

 

[island]

Looks like Star to me.

 

[bb21]

Seems to me like FasTIS. Star appears to print advance-dated tickets with a capital A the same size as the date.

Happy to be corrected.

 

[CyrusWuff]

And here's what happened when one of my colleagues tried to issue the previously mentioned Bus & Tram Pass and a Group Day Travelcard:



Which makes two different TIS with two different (and incorrect) print layouts for the Group Day TC...Wonder what Avantix and the remaining desktop TIS would make of it.

 

[RJ]

Fantastic

 

[Starmill]

Why do your TISes omit the field labels when issuing rangers?

 

[furlong]

Which makes two different TIS with two different (and incorrect) print layouts for the Group Day TC...

Now read back the magnetic stripe and see if either of the OUT and RTN portions are going to open ticket gates...

 

[simple simon]

I thought that the bus and tram pass will be a "lite" smartcard, ie: one which can be read but does not have payg capability - nor the capability to have any other travel ticket "tokens" added.

Simon

 

[causton]

Will see if I can have a go at what Avantix Tribute comes out with, but not back till Monday morning!

 

[CyrusWuff]

Why do your TISes omit the field labels when issuing rangers?

Best guess is that they're reusing the print format from when NR Ticket Offices previously sold Day Bus Passes, which required manually fed stock with pre-printed headers. The ATOC brief explicitly stated that the "new" ones would be issued on common stock, however.

I thought that the bus and tram pass will be a "lite" smartcard, ie: one which can be read but does not have payg capability - nor the capability to have any other travel ticket "tokens" added.

I believe that TfL-issued ones will be in disposable smartcard format, but ATOC have issued a retail brief saying that NR ticket sellers can issue them via their normal Ticket Issuing System, presumably to keep costs down as they're not expecting to sell that many.

 

[bb21]

Is it just me or has the Epsom loophole been fixed?

 

[yorkie]

Epsom travelcards appear to have jumped up to £12 - even with a Railcard!

Edit: OK it's now showing a Railcard price of £7.90, but it wasn't giving Railcard discounts last night!

 

[CyrusWuff]

Epsom travelcards appear to have jumped up to £12 - even with a Railcard!

Getting £7.90 with Railcard discount on Chiltern WebTIS. Sure you're not hitting a minimum fare?

 

[bb21]

Seems like TfL might have been hassling Southern to have it changed.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Epsom travelcards appear to have jumped up to £12 - even with a Railcard!

Edit: OK it's now showing a Railcard price of £7.90, but it wasn't giving Railcard discounts last night!

£7.90 is less than I'm paying now - are you quoting the Southern only price?

 

[Starmill]

Isn't £7.90 the inboundary price? If so it seems there's been a significant increase in the price of SN only Epsom Travelcards.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

£7.90 is less than I'm paying now - are you quoting the Southern only price?

Of course. The Any Permitted is currently more expensive than the inboundary by quite some, and will continue to be so.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Seems like TfL might have been hassling Southern to have it changed.

I thought TOCs were free to offer their own promotions on out boundary Travelcards without interference? Unless Southern have cottoned in to the fact that they may make a loss on these tickets.

One way or the other it constitutes a fairly outrageous price rise for travel in London where Oyster isn't optimal. It will also have the effect of making lots of out boundary Travelcards from a really long way away (Shrewsbury, Crewe, Sheffield and so on) a more attractive prospect.

 

[RJ]

Promotions maybe, but I'm sure the base price can't undercut that of the inboundary Z1-6 Travelcard.

 

[causton]

Promotions maybe, but I'm sure the base price can't undercut that of the inboundary Z1-6 Travelcard.

Indeed, is that not the same reason why, from Watford Junction, it is always cheaper to get an Anytime Day Travelcard (£21.80) than it is to get a Zone U1* return (£22.60)...
...unless you have a railcard, in which case the Travelcard only goes down to £17.00 and a Zone U1* return is something like £14.80.

All prices are from what I remember in my own head, if they are a few pence out I apologise but they should be right, I quote them enough

 

[Starmill]

Promotions maybe, but I'm sure the base price can't undercut that of the inboundary Z1-6 Travelcard.

Maybe they can get around it by having a '10% off' offer on Southern Only Travelcards from Epsom on a near permanent basis

 

[causton]

As promised...



Posting from my phone so if it screws up don't blame me

 

[CyrusWuff]

As promised...

View attachment 20672

Posting from my phone so if it screws up don't blame me

Well at least one TIS applies the correct print format. Whether it does so for the Group Day Travelcards as well remains to be seen.

 

[causton]

Well at least one TIS applies the correct print format. Whether it does so for the Group Day Travelcards as well remains to be seen.

Sorry, did not have time to read the issuing instructions for the group day travelcard before my mentor came back! Enough of an explanation with that bus and tram pass I am under slightly less supervision tomorrow, so might try it. Do you know the issuing instructions? (If not, I will find the retail brief again tomorrow morning.)

 

[CyrusWuff]

Sorry, did not have time to read the issuing instructions for the group day travelcard before my mentor came back! Enough of an explanation with that bus and tram pass I am under slightly less supervision tomorrow, so might try it. Do you know the issuing instructions? (If not, I will find the retail brief again tomorrow morning.)

Put a date of 2nd January or later, origin as a station inside the zones, destination of Zones 1-6 (NLC 0035) and look for a ticket type of OPG. Should be £8.00.

 

[mrmartin]

I've just got back to work this week and I've got an oyster with railcard. I'm probably going to be going to work in the morning peak all week this week. Is there weekly capping on oyster now? Or would have I been much better off using my contactless payment card?