Great Western Coffee Shop

Have to go to High Wycomb tomorrow - have advance tickets for the PAD part of the journey.

Would I be better to (a) get an off peak return from MYB or (b) Use my oyster with an oyster add on

I can't work out how to check the price with the add on - or even how it works or how to get one

Do you have a travelcard season ticket on your Oyster. If so, what zones?

Don't know if this helps in your decision making, but there's no off-peak day return, and the anytime day return at GBP15.60 (GBP10.30 Y-P) is cheaper than the off-peak return.

But I'm afraid I know nothing about oyster add-ons from zone boundaries etc etc.

Out of interest, was there a reason you didn't book the through journey as advance NLS - HWY?

Because of the good old issue of booking first class up to PAD and only having standard from MYB but there is a first class fair in existence and it made it more expensive

Also, I didnt want to tie myself into specific trains from MYB

No, I just have PAYG - I only go up to london 1/2 a week so a travelcard is not worth it

There is no such thing as an 'Oyster addon' to High Wycombe, if I'm interpreting your question right. Oyster only ever has validity in the zones.

If (now you've confirmed it) you only have PAYG on your Oyster card, you'd have to get off the train somewhere in the London zones on the way to High Wycombe (eg Amersham   ::)  wrong route) and touch out, even if you already have a paper extension ticket from the zonal boundary (and I'm not sure you can buy one even then without an existing travelcard).  

Oyster PAYG is actually more difficult to use (for across zonal boundary travel) than the old paper zonal ticket + extension, because previously there would have been no need to get off the train to touch out.

Paul

As you only have PAYG then there's little point using Oyster out of MYB unless you want the hassle of getting off at a Chiltern stop within the TfL area to touch out, which would be West Ruislip - further limiting you to stopping services to HWY - and then resuming your journey on a paper ticket. This also means you'd have to wait for the next train.

Now, if you have an Oyster Season, say zones 1-2, you can buy a ticket from Boundary Zone 2 to HWY and travel on any MYB-HWY service - no need for your service to call at a station in Zone 2 - as per section 19(c) of the Conditions of Carriage. Not touching out is not an issue if you have a season travelcard as touching in does not initiate a fare, it merely confirms the card is valid.

Did not realise the extension only applied to travel cards

Indeed.

Now, if you bought a paper day travelcard, you can buy a Boundary Zone x to destination ticket and not need to travel on a service that calls at a station in the boundary zone.

Would that be cheaper than using my oyster around to MYB and back and a return?

Zone 1 Oyster Single 2@ ^1.80 = ^3.60
Marylebone to High Wycombe SDR ^15.60
Total: ^19.20

Zone 1-2 Day Travelcard ^5.60 (^7.20 before 0930)
Boundary Zone 2 - High Wycombe SDR ^10.80
Total: ^16.40 (^18.00 before 0930)

So yes, a bit cheaper.  ;) ;D

/Does my discount work on the travel cards and extension or not?

In which case the oyster singles and full return would be cheaper

With railcard:

If you are using Paddington - Marylebone tube after 0930 and boundary Zone 6 - HWY after 1000 (first potential service to HWY 0950, but realistically 1020) then you can use the following combination:

Zones 1-6 Travelcard ^5.00 (no railcard discounts on lesser zoned Travelcards)
Boundary Zone 6 - High Wycombe SDR ^5.95
Total: ^10.95

It's probably too late for my suggestion now.. But Maidenhead (which you'll go through if you're going from Nailsea to Paddington) is only ten or so miles from High Wycombe.. So to save a lot of time a taxi would get you there in less than half hour from Maidenhead (traffic depending of course)...

If not how about the branch line from Maidenhead to Marlow.. That gets you even closer to Wycombe.. And then a taxi?

The return journey may be an idea with a quick cheap ticket check to get through the barriers at slough to join short at reading (I know I know)......

I am on a VERY tight schedule to make the 1630 back

So when are you leaving Wycombe? Surely taxi back to Maidenhead will be quicker than going all the way into London  and out again?

My appointment is 3pm - my return train is 430pm from PAD - meeting should only be 30 minutes

as I said tight - if I can get back to slough to get a train to pick up the train at 1700 at reading........ I know its tight - but I'm taking a chance

On same line no need to go to Marlow try Bourne End frequent buses to HW from outside station.

Use  http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/JourneyPlannerInput.aspx?cacheparam=7&repeatingloop=Y (http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/JourneyPlannerInput.aspx?cacheparam=7&repeatingloop=Y) for times.

Or if you don't want to use the branch try Taplow and our friendly taxi co from Paltform 4. For return permit to travel and/or ticket machine on 4 and no barriers.

I'll add to this thread even though its not directly related but is sort of......

Today I had a case of where a train managers discretion worked well.

I was due to get a connection at parkway with a prebooked advance ticket from temple meads - the incoming train was late so I ended up on a train 30 minutes later which meant I missed the nice connection at MYB and ended up 45 minutes late for my meeting - so instead of meeting being 3pm to 330pm - it was 345pm to 415pm - so no chance of getting the 1630 which I was booked on.

I left at 1615 and did indeed get to PAD in an hour so I was not cutting it fine at all - except the next train I was in time for was the 1730 - now I was on dubious grounds here as the delay to my journey was not my return journey but my out.......but it was a train delay that caused me to miss my train

So I thought, sod it, may as well try....

So I explained all of the above to the TM and got told, that if I could come up with that logic, he had no issue with me using my ticket.

Win win for all

That, or he'd lost the will to live ...  ;) :D ;D

That explains why I didn't see you up the posh end of the 1630 this evening!  ;) ;D


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