Train tickets with Oyster/ travelcard advice

[silvercar]

I want to travel from Elstree to Brighton offpeak returning on the next week day.

For some reason you can't use oyster cards on FCC from Elstree, but you can use one day travelcards.

If I travel off peak, can I buy a travelcard for all zones that would take me as far as East Croydon and then a ticket from East Croydon to Brighton, or do I have to buy a rail ticket from Elstree straight through to Brighton?

[dzug1]

There are no Oyster machines at Elstree, I would guess. If there are they may not be in service.

Yes to the travelcard and rebooking at East Croydon

FCC do have a Daysave ticket at £14 which may be cheaper than doing that - but at least the outward ticket will be difficult to buy - only certain tourist offices sell them. If you have time you could buy by post

Scroll down this page http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=104 for details

[silvercar]

Thanks for that, I had never heard of daysave tickets.

[gner_ex]

A travelcard for all zones will actually take you as far as Coulsdon South, but you are correct that East Croydon is FCC's last stop. Your options are either:
Elstree-Brighton cheap day return £20.00
or
Elstree zone 1-6 travelcard £7.50 AND a "boundary zone 6" to Brighton day return of £15.00.
or
as above, all zones travelcard £7.50, AND an East Croydon to Brighton cheap day return marked FIRST Cap Connect ONLY which is £13.00. You can ONLY use the Thameslink trains to Brighton though, not the Southern trains to Victoria.

If you're going Elstree to Brighton and then straight back, get the through ticket. If you need a travelcard for other things during the day, then the bottom option is cheapest.

Elstree oyster machines not due to come in service until January 2010 - though if you ever have a weekly ticket on your oyster, I'd be interested to know whether they actually work through the covering (ones at certain other stations do).

[dzug1]

OP doen't want day returns, gner_ex - he's returning the next day. They could be cheaper, but day singles usually are a few pence less than day returns

[silvercar]

Ended up getting an off peak return for £29.

Thanks for the advice.

Interesting point about Elstree Oysters.

Signs up saying Oysters can only be used from Kentish Town to zone 1 and freedom passes from West Hampstead.

One day travelcards are valid all the way to Elstree, but are rail style tickets not put on an Oyster. I guess if someone had bough a one day travelcard for all zones on their oyster at a tube station it would be recognised by the oyster touch pads at Elstree (or why else would they be there?)

[dzug1]

You can't buy a one day travel card on an Oyster - only 7 days and longer.

The pads are there for a planned extension of Oyster validity

[silvercar]

The pads are there for a planned extension of Oyster validity

Some people are using them at the moment, so they must have some purpose.

[gner_ex]

Some people are using them at the moment, so they must have some purpose.
If they work at present, then people with weekly (or longer) tickets on oyster can touch in/out on them, and ditto people with freedom passes.

Whilst they will work in theory for PAYG users - you do run the risk of a penalty fare (though telling the staff member that you'll touch out could be a valid defence.

To be fair, these oyster pads should be switched to "closed" - whoever programmed them has done it wrongly.