OYSTERCARDS - THE ONLY THREAD!

[tubeguru]

I recently came into possession of a staff Nominee Oystercard and I believe that there is no timeout on that particular card but don't quote me on that.

I would still buy a paper ticket for the sole purpose of a challenge though. For our record attempt Geoff and I had a spare ticket too, in case one of ours stopped working.

[mullardo]

Ok, when carrying out the challenge do you buy tikets on the day or in advance?

[Soup Dragon]

I usually try and buy tickets the day in advance, that way just in case you do have any problems on the morning of the challenge (i.e. car not starting, ticket machine not working) then you don't have such a panic to get organised.

[nozzacook]

Ive always used a travel card & buy it on the day as it makes good evidence if you succeed.

[hwolge]

Ive always used a travel card & buy it on the day as it makes good evidence if you succeed.

I think the Travel Cards we used for our GWR worked just fine as evidence despite the fact they were issued on the day before the attempt (at 12:33) - check the pic on pg 199 of Guinness World Records 2008 book...

[Going Underground]

So lets say you buy an Oyster card and want to use it Monday to Friday to travel into London...

This is purely for communting and not challenge purposes...

Is there a difference between putting say £50.00 cash on the card or can you get a weekly/monthly travelcard equivalent put on the Oyster Card.......

I find the whole bloody Oyster scenario very confusing

[Root]

A one-week Oyster Travelcard is slightly cheaper than reaching the peak cap five times. It also allows you to travel for free (effectively) at the weekend, you can use it on national rail, and you never have to worry about it timing out. The disadvantage is that you will have wasted money if it turns out you don't end up using it every day.

[Going Underground]

Thanks Ollie

I need to get one for daily use and I really am in a quandry.....

[Root]

For a long time, I've been complaining (to TfL, or to anyone that will listen) that it is still cheaper for me to use a paper ticket than to use an Oyster Card, because I can get a off-peak paper ticket using my Young Person's Railcard for just under a fiver. It seems like someone finally did something about it: you can now "link" your Disabled Persons, HM Forces, Senior or Young Persons Railcard to your Oyster Card, making your off-peak cap 34% below the usual rate. Single fares stay at the same price.

Apparently this has been in operation since the 2nd of January 2008, but I only found out about it today, completely by chance, by looking at the Wikipedia entry for Oyster cards. I guess TfL didn't want to make too much noise about it in case too many people took up the offer.

I have probably been completely ignorant about this, but just in case there is anyone else on this forum affected by this (who haven't heard about it themselves), I thought I'd share it.

[dudey]

Yes, i'd heard rumours about this! Also Matt Scrivin had told me about tfl's general acceptance of railcards (Y-P in particular) despite them being quite quiet about it. Though i hadn't yet had the chance to get my own YP Railcard added to my Oyster. Will make sure to see the friendly man in the ticket office when i'm next in the big city. I've not actually ever been up to the ticket office on the tube before! Am I right in dreading trying to explain what i want when i do this?

Anyway, will be so much better than the decision i have to make at the moment between buying only the NR return and use Oyster on the tube on the hope i'll only go on the tube twice, to make it cheaper than buying the travelcard in with my NR journey into london. I so much prefer the practical side of Oyster, don't have to worry about screwing up my paper ticket now!

Now, to lobby Boris to get rid of the time-limit and Oyster will be the tubechallenger's new weapon of choice!

[hwolge]

Can you touch in and touch out at the same station with a Pay-as-you-go Oyster? Are there any specific time limits then? Would it cost anything?

This could happen for various reasons. E.g.
* You change your mind
* You enter the wrong station by mistake, like Edgware Road (Cricle) instead of (Bakerloo)
* You realise that service disruptions make your journey impossible
* You're starting/stopping a stop watch...

Any input is welcome!

[jbom1]

Without answering Hakan's question, I'd note that if I were doing a full network challenge, I might want the freedom to use some trains on which Oyster pre-pay is not valid, for instance probably SWT for journeys like Richmond-Feltham or Waterloo-Vauxhall-Richmond, and possibly even any of Romford-Upminster, Wimbledon-Sutton loop, London Bridge-Cannon St. So, unless I had a Travelcard season ticket on Oyster, I'd buy a paper travelcard anyway.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/ ... l-rail.pdf

The following, which I found on the web and do not vouch for, may be a partial answer to Hakan:

http://catonmat.blogspot.com/2007/10/ki ... sance.html

[hwolge]

The following, which I found on the web and do not vouch for, may be a partial answer to Hakan:

http://catonmat.blogspot.com/2007/10/ki ... sance.html

Actually, that pretty much settles it, provided this guy is telling the truth...

[tubeguru]

His blog isn't exactly busy or popular is it?

And that was written almost a year ago so it may not still be the case.

[Starkey7]

I have to say that I'm still sceptical about this Oyster business. It's annoying when they don't seem to work properly, and your money is spirited away without trace. Only the other day Logsfan touched in and out at Wimbledon and was charged £4. Didn't seem fair really.