Oyster question

lisyloo

I have been using Oyster this week.
I have noticed that it takes £4 at the start of the journey and then credits £2.5 at the end - so a single tube journey costs £1.50.

Does this mean I always need at least £4 on my card even if I'm doing a £1.5 trip?

I would guess it does but I can't find the answer anywhere.

newfoundglory

I have a tfl travelcard, so i can't tell you for sure.

£4 is the cash fare for a single journey in zone 1. If you fail to touch in-and-out when using Oyster pre-pay/pay as you go, you get charged the maximum cash fare (in your case 4 quid). This scheme came into effect in november, and is another scandelous way that TfL uses to extract more money from the travellers pocket.

I suspect that they have now started taking the full max. cash fare amount at the start of the journey (rather than calculate any "fines" payable at the end), in order to make sure the Oystercard does not go into a negative balance. Otherwise you could get an oystercard with £1.50 on it... make a journey in zone one and not touch out at the end. The system would then be unable to "fine" you the max cash fare of £4. Then, it would be cheaper for you to just get another new Oystercard.

Although the cost of the Oystercard is 3 quid (a refundabled deposit), you get them free with 7day or more travelcards. Thus you could potentially make 52 or so free or cheap journeys a year.

Only a guess, but i suspect this is the case. This means the short answer to your question is Yes.

isasmurf

No you don't. Your Oyster needs to have at least the minimum fare for the zone in which you begin you journey (£1.50 in Zone 1 or £1 in other zones), or enough money to take you to the daily price cap if the minimum fare will take you over the price cap.

Do I need to have at least £5 on my Oyster card to start a Tube/DLR journey using pay as you go?