OYSTER and TUBE/OVERGROUND mix

wallofbeans

yorkie2 wrote: »

Sorry, do you have a Railcard? £1.50 is the off-peak fare with a Railcard from Wandsworth Road to Shoreditch, and this price is exactly the same as Clapham North to Liverpool Street. If you don't have a Railcard, both are £2.30.

It's £2.30 unless you have a Railcard, then it's £1.50. Must have been some confusion earlier in the thread; apologies about that.

But both fares are the same.

However a higher fare applies if you combine a non-London Overground National Rail 'red route' including Zone 1 in combination with LU or DLR in Zone 1. This applies the ludicrous, dreaded, unfair 'mixed mode tax' which takes many people by surprise.

What railcard can I get that reduces the fare? I have a network railcard but I don't think that kicks in until you spend over a certain amount...

wallofbeans

Hello again,

I just wanted to try and clear up the pricing confusion--

I went from Wandsworth Road to Stratford twice this past week, using the overground and tube, and avoiding zone 1. The cost of the journey was £1.50 off peak with my oyster card. And £1.70 peak fare when I took the journey at about 1730.

So, if I am correct that the basic fare with an oyster on the tube - instead starting at Clapham North (the nearest tube to Wandsworth Road) but still avoiding zone 1 - is £1.90 but £2.30 at peak times.

This means that taking the overground is cheaper than taking the tube. And off peak, it's the same price as taking the bus!

yorkie2

wallofbeans wrote: »

What railcard can I get that reduces the fare? I have a network railcard but I don't think that kicks in until you spend over a certain amount...

Most Railcards can be loaded onto an Oyster card, but not the Network Railcard, sadly.

You can purchase a Travelcard for Zones 1-6 for £7.90 with a Network Railcard, this will be cheaper than using undiscounted Oyster/contactless if you do enough journeys!

wallofbeans wrote: »

I went from Wandsworth Road to Stratford twice this past week, using the overground and tube, and avoiding zone 1. The cost of the journey was £1.50 off peak with my oyster card. And £1.70 peak fare when I took the journey at about 1730.

So, if I am correct that the basic fare with an oyster on the tube - instead starting at Clapham North (the nearest tube to Wandsworth Road) but still avoiding zone 1 - is £1.90 but £2.30 at peak times.

This means that taking the overground is cheaper than taking the tube. And off peak, it's the same price as taking the bus!

How do you propose to travel from Clapham North to Stratford avoiding Zone 1 entirely by tube?

wallofbeans

yorkie2 wrote: »

How do you propose to travel from Clapham North to Stratford avoiding Zone 1 entirely by tube?

I'm not sure. I'm not going to do it. But fare finder tells me it can be done and that's what the fare is. Maybe it's just sending you to Clapham High Street and then back on the Overground... but you then pay extra for basically the exact same route...

If it's not possible then that makes the overground/jubilee line route an better deal! I'm amazed that it stays at the overground £1.50 rate even though a chunk of the journey is via the jubilee line!

yorkie2

wallofbeans wrote: »

I'm not sure. I'm not going to do it. But fare finder tells me it can be done and that's what the fare is.

You are looking at the single fare finder route via Balham (Zone 3, interchanging onto Southern services)?

You are paying extra because it's via Zone 3.

wallofbeans wrote: »

If it's not possible then that makes the overground/jubilee line route an better deal! I'm amazed that it stays at the overground £1.50 rate even though a chunk of the journey is via the jubilee line!

There is no "overground rate"; the fare you quote is the TfL rate.

wallofbeans

yorkie2 wrote: »

You are looking at the single fare finder route via Balham (Zone 3, interchanging onto Southern services)?

You are paying extra because it's via Zone 3.



There is no "overground rate"; the fare you quote is the TfL rate.

Ah! I'm getting this now. I had no idea it goes to a slightly higher rate if you go from zone 2 through zone 3 and back to zone 2. I thought it was one rate for anywhere outside zone 1 and then another rate for zone 1 and that was it.

The overground seems cheaper because it almost never goes into zone 1, and unless you're going to Shoreditch Hight Street, you never actually have to go to zone 1 at all.

But using the tube almost always means a journey through zone 1 (for me at least) so it always seems like it's the more expensive option.

I can cross London for £1.50 on the overground but would find it very difficult on the tube!

Thanks for helping make sense of that!

wealdroam

wallofbeans wrote: »

The overground seems cheaper because it almost never goes into zone 1, and unless you're going to Shoreditch Hight Street, you never actually have to go to zone 1 at all.

But remember that even if you pass through Shoreditch High Street Station without alighting you will be charged a zone 1 fare.

Not relevant to your planned trips, I know.

wallofbeans

wealdroam wrote: »

But remember that even if you pass through Shoreditch High Street Station without alighting you will be charged a zone 1 fare.

Not relevant to your planned trips, I know.

I know! It's irritating that just one station hits zone 1! Why can't they just move the boundary in a bit!

I just meant if I wanted to go Dalston Junction for example, I could go all the way round the overground the other way and get there for £1.50. This is not something I'd do as it would take forever, but it's interesting that it is possible and not something that can be achieved on the tube (I don't think) even if you take the longest possible route.

Thanks again!

yorkie2

wealdroam wrote: »

But remember that even if you pass through Shoreditch High Street Station without alighting you will be charged a zone 1 fare.

Not if the default fare gives you the benefit of the doubt and assumes you avoid Zone 1.

wallofbeans wrote: »

I just meant if I wanted to go Dalston Junction for example, I could go all the way round the overground the other way and get there for £1.50...

No, the Wandsworth Road to Dalston Junction fare assumes travel via Zone 1, because, as you admit...

wallofbeans wrote: »

This is not something I'd do as it would take forever,

wallofbeans wrote: »

but it's interesting that it is possible and not something that can be achieved on the tube (I don't think) even if you take the longest possible route.

What exactly cannot be achieved on the tube? If you are referring to your particular journey from Clapham North to Liverpool St/Shoreditch this is hardly surprising.

wallofbeans

yorkie2 wrote: »

Not if the default fare gives you the benefit of the doubt and assumes you avoid Zone 1.

No, the Wandsworth Road to Dalston Junction fare assumes travel via Zone 1, because, as you admit...


What exactly cannot be achieved on the tube? If you are referring to your particular journey from Clapham North to Liverpool St/Shoreditch this is hardly surprising.

Getting from Clapham North to Stratford without going through zone 1 on the tube. Or to be honest going anywhere south to north without going through zone 1.