Watford/Chesham (mainly or wholly tube) day fares?

[Howardh]

Fancy doing some summer drinking in the nice pubs on the Met line!

Thinking Watford Junction > Watford tube then calling at > Moor Park > Chesham > Amersham > Chalfont then back to Watford.

Thing is, if each were a single journey the cost would be prohibitive (and I don't particulary want to be mithered with getting an Oyster but would if i really had to) BUT I cannot find a travel card that specifically covers zones 7 - 9 (unless I have misread this http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tube-dlr-lo-adult-fares-jan-2014.pdf where the best I can do is £12.50 off-peak travelcard zones 4 - 9.

Or does a travelcard for zone 5 cover 6 - 9 as well?

Help!!

Also - any locals down there recommend some decent pubs

 

[CNash]

If you're using Watford Junction you'll need the slightly more expensive "+ Watford Junction" Travelcard. This is £16.40 off-peak regardless of what zones you use, so you might as well just get a 1-9 + Watford Junction.

Travelcards only cover you for the zones listed on them; a Zone 5 Only Travelcard is only valid for travel within Zone 5.

 

[MikeWh]

As the Met extension isn't yet open, am I right in thinking you'll walk between Watford Junction and Watford Met? Now, that page is rather confusing. It lists travelcard products which cover each zone combination, but doesn't explain what the travelcard actually covers. If you look, the same £12.50 cost covers every permutation involving zone 9 from 1-9 down to just 9 only. That's because it is a zone 1-9 off-peak day travelcard. You can't buy day travelcards which don't include zone 1 anymore (thanks Boris).

If you have an Oyster card you will save money. The relevant cap is £11.60 for starters. Plus off-peak journeys within zones 7-9 are £1.50 each with a maximum of £1.70 if you happen to travel between 1600-1900. Therefore you will need to make 8 single journeys to hit the cap. Yes, you'll need a £5 deposit for the card, but this is refundable when you surrender the card, or just keep it for the next time you visit London.

 

[Be3G]

The confusion here stems from the fact that Boris abolished all day travelcards (and corresponding Oyster caps) which exclude zone 1. Therefore, if you want a travelcard to use for exploring the outer zones, you end up having to buy one including every London zone all the way in to the centre too. Barmy, I know. Hence, the zone 4–9 travelcard for £12.50 is actually a 1–9 if you look closely!

As a side note, a zone 5 travelcard is impossible to buy, in either day or season form – aside from the fact that all day travelcards include zone 1, the smallest number of zones a season travelcard can have is two.

Edit: Mike beat me to it!

 

[CNash]

As a side note, a zone 5 travelcard is impossible to buy, in either day or season form – aside from the fact that all day travelcards include zone 1, the smallest number of zones a season travelcard can have is two.

Weird that the fares list (linked to by the OP) would list prices for single-zone Travelcards if they're not actually available to buy. Also could be misleading...

 

[Howardh]

Thanks for the info - it's a puzzle ain't it! BTW I intend to walk between Watford stations so no need for an + card. Might be a case of turn up and see what there is, but it seems daft to include zone 1 when you are nowhere near.

 

[bb21]

Thanks for the info - it's a puzzle ain't it! BTW I intend to walk between Watford stations so no need for an + card. Might be a case of turn up and see what there is, but it seems daft to include zone 1 when you are nowhere near.

"Simplification" is what Boris called it. The real reason? Anyone looking at the prices will be able to tell you.

The only Off-Peak ones not including Zone 1 previously only came in two versions anyway: Zones 2-6 and Zones 2-9. Hardly that complicated.

 

[Howardh]

"Simplification" is what Boris called it. The real reason? Anyone looking at the prices will be able to tell you.

The only Off-Peak ones not including Zone 1 previously only came in two versions anyway: Zones 2-6 and Zones 2-9. Hardly that complicated.

I suppose, playing Devil's Advocate, if you have a zone 2 - 6 there was nothing stopping you travelling through zone 1 to get from one zone to another, adding to the congestion? Maybe a fairer system would be to look at the Dutch and Belgian zoning system, based on blocks rather than the multi-doughnut seen on the TFGL plan, where you get cards for specific zones or tickets through zones (say from 4056 to 4059 through 4057 and 4058 (if they exist!!).

But I'll be looking into the Oyster system.

 

[Tibbs]

Fancy doing some summer drinking in the nice pubs on the Met line!

Thinking Watford Junction > Watford tube then calling at > Moor Park > Chesham > Amersham > Chalfont then back to Watford.

Thing is, if each were a single journey the cost would be prohibitive (and I don't particulary want to be mithered with getting an Oyster but would if i really had to) BUT I cannot find a travel card that specifically covers zones 7 - 9 (unless I have misread this http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tube-dlr-lo-adult-fares-jan-2014.pdf where the best I can do is £12.50 off-peak travelcard zones 4 - 9.

Or does a travelcard for zone 5 cover 6 - 9 as well?

Help!!

Also - any locals down there recommend some decent pubs

As for decent pubs - in Watford there is something of a dearth. There's a Moon Under the Water Weatherspoons (sort of) on the walk from the Junction to the Met Station, which also happens to be on the site of where the Met line was originally going to terminate back in the day.

Aside from that - Bodegas at the top of the High Street does a good G&T, but aside from that nothing really worth visiting in central Watford.

 

[transmanche]

Maybe a fairer system would be to look at the Dutch and Belgian zoning system, based on blocks rather than the multi-doughnut seen on the TFGL plan, where you get cards for specific zones or tickets through zones (say from 4056 to 4059 through 4057 and 4058 (if they exist!!).

Tyne & Wear used to have such a zonal system, but it was scrapped a few years ago in favour of a 'London-style' system. The reason given was that the old system (which had run successfully for over 20 years) was "too complicated".

Old and new zones shown below.

(Annoyingly, different zones are now used for Metro and All-modes tickets.)

 

[bb21]

I suppose, playing Devil's Advocate, if you have a zone 2 - 6 there was nothing stopping you travelling through zone 1 to get from one zone to another, adding to the congestion? Maybe a fairer system would be to look at the Dutch and Belgian zoning system, based on blocks rather than the multi-doughnut seen on the TFGL plan, where you get cards for specific zones or tickets through zones (say from 4056 to 4059 through 4057 and 4058 (if they exist!!).

But I'll be looking into the Oyster system.

There is no perfect way of doing this, but the Oyster system has a default fare for each journey, which applies if you do not touch any reader en route. There are then alternative fares depending on where you touched in/out/pink en route. This works quite well at the moment with PAYG, so there is no reason why it cannot be deployed under the provision of daily capping and Travelcard seasons not including Zone 1.

 

[greatkingrat]

Tyne & Wear used to have such a zonal system, but it was scrapped a few years ago in favour of a 'London-style' system. The reason given was that the old system (which had run successfully for over 20 years) was "too complicated".

Old and new zones shown below.

(Annoyingly, different zones are now used for Metro and All-modes tickets.)

Strathclyde still have such a system for their Zonecard - 70 odd zones is a bit ridiculous though.

http://www.spt.co.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/zonecard_map2.pdf

 

[hassaanhc]

As a side note, a zone 5 travelcard is impossible to buy, in either day or season form – aside from the fact that all day travelcards include zone 1, the smallest number of zones a season travelcard can have is two.

Edit: Mike beat me to it!

I was about to say you can, but then I double checked and discovered that they had indeed got rid of single zone only seasons. Last October/November I bought Z3-4 weeklies a few times and noticed that one just for Z3 or Z4 was exactly the same price :roll:

Weird that the fares list (linked to by the OP) would list prices for single-zone Travelcards if they're not actually available to buy. Also could be misleading...

I noticed that too, I certainly call that misleading :roll:

I suppose, playing Devil's Advocate, if you have a zone 2 - 6 there was nothing stopping you travelling through zone 1 to get from one zone to another, adding to the congestion? Maybe a fairer system would be to look at the Dutch and Belgian zoning system, based on blocks rather than the multi-doughnut seen on the TFGL plan, where you get cards for specific zones or tickets through zones (say from 4056 to 4059 through 4057 and 4058 (if they exist!!).

But I'll be looking into the Oyster system.

Probably true with the paper ones, unless stopped by a RPI or attempted to leave at a Z1 station. Very hard to do with Oyster.

 

[Metrailway]

Fancy doing some summer drinking in the nice pubs on the Met line!

Thinking Watford Junction > Watford tube then calling at > Moor Park > Chesham > Amersham > Chalfont then back to Watford.

Thing is, if each were a single journey the cost would be prohibitive (and I don't particulary want to be mithered with getting an Oyster but would if i really had to) BUT I cannot find a travel card that specifically covers zones 7 - 9 (unless I have misread this http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tube-dlr-lo-adult-fares-jan-2014.pdf where the best I can do is £12.50 off-peak travelcard zones 4 - 9.

Or does a travelcard for zone 5 cover 6 - 9 as well?

Help!!

Also - any locals down there recommend some decent pubs

As you can probably guess from my username I know the line and it's oddities very well!

Firstly, unless you like golf or gawping at very rich people, Moor Park isn't a great place to break your journey. It been a long time since I've been to Moor Park but I don't remember a pub being anywhere near to the station. All the roads leading to the station are private, as Moor Park is a private estate.

Break of journeys on LU single tickets are not permitted. However, due to the fact that Chiltern call at between Amersham and Rickmansworth means that break of journeys ARE permitted at joint stations (Amersham, Chalfont, Chorleywood and Rickmansworth) if travelling with a valid National Rail ticket. In the past, I have broken my journey several times at these stations using NR tickets, although the barriers don't like it.

If you don't mind omitting Moor Park or Chesham, I would recommend buying a Watford Met to Great Missenden Anytime Day Return for £9.60. 70p extra if you want to go to Wendover. I must stress that you should not buy this ticket at an LU station, such as Watford (Met), as you would purchase a LU ticket and not a NR ticket. It seems you can purchase such a ticket on redspottedhanky.com if you wish.

 

[Howardh]

As you can probably guess from my username I know the line and it's oddities very well!

Firstly, unless you like golf or gawping at very rich people, Moor Park isn't a great place to break your journey. It been a long time since I've been to Moor Park but I don't remember a pub being anywhere near to the station. All the roads leading to the station are private, as Moor Park is a private estate.

Break of journeys on LU single tickets are not permitted. However, due to the fact that Chiltern call at between Amersham and Rickmansworth means that break of journeys ARE permitted at joint stations (Amersham, Chalfont, Chorleywood and Rickmansworth) if travelling with a valid National Rail ticket. In the past, I have broken my journey several times at these stations using NR tickets, although the barriers don't like it.

If you don't mind omitting Moor Park or Chesham, I would recommend buying a Watford Met to Great Missenden Anytime Day Return for £9.60. 70p extra if you want to go to Wendover. I must stress that you should not buy this ticket at an LU station, such as Watford (Met), as you would purchase a LU ticket and not a NR ticket. It seems you can purchase such a ticket on redspottedhanky.com if you wish.

Thanks for the info on Moor Park, that's now off the list! I WOULD like to stop at Chesham - end of the line and all that, but missing Moor Park is one less stop so looks like the Oystercard could do the job.

On the oystercard website it says nothing about these "zones beyond the zones" but also nothing about the card can't be used there. Is this place outer space??!! If you can use the OC from Watford Tube to Chesham and stop at places inbetween (less MP) then I'm happy with that!

 

[transmanche]

On the oystercard website it says nothing about these "zones beyond the zones" but also nothing about the card can't be used there.

All the fares are listed. (E.g. an off-peak single in Z7-9 is £1.50.)

Or you can check individually using the Single Fare Finder.

 

[Howardh]

All the fares are listed. (E.g. an off-peak single in Z7-9 is £1.50.)

Or you can check individually using the Single Fare Finder.

Ta. £1.50 compared with £4.70 single Watford/Chesham. Sounds good to me.
Like the look of Chesham - been looking at the OS map and there are lots of places in the centre called "Bury" so it will make me feel at home! Pubs and a market selling black puddings....well, perhaps not!!

 

[infobleep]

Although you can't buy tickets avoiding zone 1 in London, I am sure you still can from outside of London. I had a Guildford to London Zones 2-6 for a time. I assume that's still for sale, although I may be wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[transmanche]

Although you can't buy tickets avoiding zone 1 in London, I am sure you still can from outside of London. I had a Guildford to London Zones 2-6 for a time. I assume that's still for sale, although I may be wrong.

You can buy such tickets in London.

You can buy a single Z2-6 ticket. You can buy a Z2-6 Travelcard Season. But what you can't buy anymore is a Z2-6 One Day Travelcard.

 

[Be3G]

Like the look of Chesham - been looking at the OS map and there are lots of places in the centre called "Bury" so it will make me feel at home! Pubs and a market selling black puddings....well, perhaps not!!

I like Chesham too – a nice quiet town in the country. An enjoyable place to spend a couple of hours.