OYSTERCARDS - THE ONLY THREAD!

[standclearofthedoors]

Are you trying to look like a Deppesque Willy Wonka?

[zeibura]

Are you trying to look like a Deppesque Willy Wonka?

yep, can totally see the likeness there...

[hwolge]

I know this has been discussed on this forum before, but I don't think it's been straightened out fully... Here are my specific questions:

* Has any of you "Z1C regulars" used Oyster? What's your experience from this?
* Is the time limit still 2h00m or has it been raised to 2h30m as I've seen rumours about?
* If, during a Z1C, I see that I'm going to cross the time limit without a forced system exit, what do I do? More specifically, would it be enough to do an "exit sweep" or do I need both an exit and an entry sweep? Would it possibly be a problem with an immediate reentry after an exit?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm contemplating Oyster instead of paper Travel Cards for my visit to London for the 2007 Z1C.

[tubeguru]

My Oystercard is Prepay only but I am always getting the same error with it.

On my journeys from Finsbury Park to Paddington and back it regularly fails to register me as having touched in, and so I am always ringing them up to get £4.00 back. I got a new card and it worked fine for a while before starting to do it again.

The time limit is now 3 hours or more I believe. Someone posted something about it here but I can't find it.

Are you really going to be inside the system for longer that 2.5 to 3 hours?

[hwolge]

Are you really going to be inside the system for longer that 2.5 to 3 hours?

I don't think so - but I'm not quite sure... I suspect there will always be a Queenswater, a Paddington or an Aldgate run to make it shorter - it's more of theoretical interest...

[hwolge]

Actually, if my memory serves me right my very first Z1C was done like this:

Paddington (H&C)-Aldgate East-Aldgate-Westminster-London Bridge-Elephant & Castle-Paddington-HSK-NHG-Tottenham Court Road-Euston-Bank-Holborn-Russel Square-Earl's Court-St. James's Park-Victoria-Vauxhall

This was more than 2:30 in the system (after the Aldgate run), despite a sub-3 hour finish ...

One more thing, is the topping up limited to even multiples of £5 or could it be any amount? (I'll probably need exactly £20.80 for this trip...)

[gasman]

As far as I'm aware, you can top up by whatever amount you like, including amounts under £5.

[Sam]

That is correct, you can put on as much or as little as you desire!

[standclearofthedoors]

Pay by card and it's in £5 denominations only.
Pay by cash and you can do £5 denominations if you want change, or any ammount, but it won't give change.

[hwolge]

OK Let's see if I got all the Oyster business right:

* I arrive in London (Liverpool Street) and go to the tube ticket office.
* At the counter I "buy" (pay deposit) of £3 (that I don't expect to ever get back). Or are there machines where you can get new Oyster cards?
* I don't need to fill out any forms or so since I'm not interested in any season Travel Cards or theft/loss protection etc.
* I go over to a machine and fill it up by cash - and I happen to have £21 in even money. If I'm out of cash I have to put in £25 from my credit card instead...
* I use it for all my Zone 1-4 travel + buses (all off peak) for four days. The price cap is £5.20/day - so my £21 should cover that!

Have I got it?

[tubeguru]

OK Let's see if I got all the Oyster business right:

* I arrive in London (Liverpool Street) and go to the tube ticket office.
* At the counter I "buy" (pay deposit) of £3 (that I don't expect to ever get back). Or are there machines where you can get new Oyster cards?

Machines don't give out Oysters - you have to speak to the nice man.

* I don't need to fill out any forms or so since I'm not interested in any season Travel Cards or theft/loss protection etc.

You only fill in the form if you register it, and there are no benefits for you personally to register it really.

* I go over to a machine and fill it up by cash - and I happen to have £21 in even money. If I'm out of cash I have to put in £25 from my credit card instead...

Yes.

* I use it for all my Zone 1-4 travel + buses (all off peak) for four days. The price cap is £5.20/day - so my £21 should cover that!

Have I got it?

Yes, but you can use it to go to all the way to Zone D if you like. And the buses cost the same at all times of the day. Don't they?

[hwolge]

Yes, the Zone 1-4 was just the actual example of my upcoming visit...

And the buses cost the same at all times of the day. Don't they?

This is somewhat unclear from reading on the tfl site... In fact I can't find a single line indicating if the bus rides are included in the "peak system" or not. I would guess they were, but I trust tubeguru more than myself on this... Does anyone KNOW?

EDIT: I think I found it:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1051.aspx

half a page down it says:

Daily price capping is the most you will be charged a day when you use Oyster to pay as you go on Tube, DLR, bus, tram and some National Rail services. The Peak cap will apply if you travel from 0430 and before 0930 Mondays to Fridays.

It certainly seems that buses are not excempt from the "peak system"

[tubeguru]

Well the cash fare is £2 whenever you take a bus journey, so why should peak and off-peak prices apply to Oyster users?

[hwolge]

Good question, but obviously it does...

Well, the capping includes bus fares (that are only £1 on Oyster to begin with). Assume I will do *lots* of Zone 1-4 travelling off peak - then the Oyster would cap at £5.20. This would include all off peak bus travel. However if I start out in the morning with a bus to my tube station that leaves slightly before 9.30 then that will cost me an additional £1 since it's not done off peak... However, if I make THREE SEPARATE bus journeys before 9.30 then that wolud invoke the peak cap of £7.30 (rather than the off peek £5.20 + 3 x £1).

Oyster is pretty smart.

[tubeguru]

It's also pretty expensive ...