Oyster Price Capping

[whole diary]

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

while we are on this subject im getting an all line rover and have also obtained an oyster card and loaded 20 onto it, now when the credit runs out you can set it to load more cash on automatically but i dont know how long this takes and if your card can get declined while more is being loaded? if that makes sence (probably not...its me)

[ChrisB]

Its pretty much instantaneous, i believe

[JayMac]

The auto top up feature kicks in when your balance falls below ^8. So you shouldn't run out of credit as the top up will activate when you still have enough credit for one days full use. Unless you plan to rack up lots of peak journeys on TfL^» (Transport for London - about) to/from the outer zones or go out to the boonies with your Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services)..... Watford Junction, Grays, etc.

Oh, and if you don't have sufficient funds in the nominated account linked to your debit card of course.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

it arrived this morning ...... on the same day that i quit my job..... caugh hummm may not be needed

[Brucey]

I made the journeys using the Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card yesterday.  Looking at my online account (which is currently only showing the first journey), the barriers at Victoria deducted ^2.90 from my balance (enough for a Z1-3 peak journey) and then the barriers at my destination (South Kensington) credited the difference.  The system did cap my off-peak journeys separately to the peak one, which has demonstrated that it is possible for a complicated fare system to automatically calculate the cheapest fare.  Why can't we have something like this on NR^» (Network Rail - home page)?

[paul7575]

I made the journeys using the Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card yesterday.  Looking at my online account (which is currently only showing the first journey), the barriers at Victoria deducted ^2.90 from my balance (enough for a Z1-3 peak journey) and then the barriers at my destination (South Kensington) credited the difference.  The system did cap my off-peak journeys separately to the peak one, which has demonstrated that it is possible for a complicated fare system to automatically calculate the cheapest fare.  Why can't we have something like this on NR^» (Network Rail - home page)?

We have that in London.  But what value of initial deposit (the maximum cash fare as it's known by TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) should the system take off your balance when you touch in on a nationwide equivalent system?

Paul

[JayMac]

Well that would be Newquay to Thurso (via London) 1st Class Return at ^738.00.

Quite a negative balance!!!

[bobm]

Not sure why anyone would pay ^738 when you can buy a 7 Day All Lines First Class Rover for ^630!

[Brucey]

Another question, if anyone knows the answer.  Are there Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) validators on the platform at Clapham Junction or will I need to go through the ticket gates then come back in?  I'm making a journey to CLJ, changing trains to Victoria then heading on the tube.  Cheapest way seems to be split at CLJ then switch to Oyster.

[Mookiemoo]

Yes there are - because some over ground journeys from clapham involve oyster

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Worst offending 'overcharge' Tube station list revealed

A list of the London stations where passengers were "overcharged" the most when using Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards has been revealed.

Waterloo saw the most "overcharge" payments, with a total of ^2.5m last year.

In total, ^61.8m of these payments were taken from passengers in 2010.

Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) said any passengers who felt they were wrongly charged could apply for refunds.

The problems arose when barriers were not working or left open, or if cards were not read when swiped at the start or end of their journey.

The maximum ^7.40 single fare is deducted for all "incomplete" Oyster journeys and it is up to the passenger to ensure his or her card is swiped.

But when there are large crowds at stations, TfL will open the barriers and implement a system called called "autocomplete".

Users will have to touch in at the same station within three days or they receive the maximum fare.

The list of the London stations where passengers had to pay the most incomplete journey charges was obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Lib Dems.

A total of 14 million journeys in 2010 involved possible "overcharging".

Since Oyster cards became accepted on national rail stations at the beginning of 2010, rail passengers have paid up to ^25.8m in incomplete journey charges.

Passengers using the London Underground paid even more of the maximum fare deductions - up to ^30.1m.

In addition, there was up to ^3.2m on the Docklands Light Railway and up to ^2.5m on the London Overground.

"This level of overcharging is totally unacceptable," said Lib Dems London Assembly Group leader Caroline Pidgeon. "It is clear that not enough is being done to ensure the machines and the technology are working properly."

A TfL spokesperson said: "Maximum fares are not overcharges. We have maximum fares in place to ensure customers validate their journeys or we would open to widespread fare evasion across our network."