Pink Oyster confusion - Clapham Junction

[johntea]

This morning I did a trip from Victoria to Clapham Junction via Oyster

Later in the day I then made a return trip from Clapham Junction to Brighton however this didn’t involve Oyster at all, just a standard day return rail ticket (which was used to get me through the barriers at Cl

Having returned from Brighton to Clapham Junction I then needed to hot foot it to Platform 1 for a London Overground service to help me get to Ealing Broadway in time for the last train to Reading

Am I right in thinking tapping the pink Oyster reader was the correct thing to do on Platform 1 at Clapham Junction?

Just worried that I feel like I haven’t ‘checked in’ but there was no obvious opportunity to between alighting the train service and joining the Overground

 

[A Challenge]

According to this article from @MikeWh's Oyster rail website, pink readers can (as of March 2017) no longer be used to touch in at the start of a journey (and never could be used to touch out), however from reading the comments it is not clear whether this ever happened.

Pink Readers – Interchange only – Oyster Fares Central

www.oyster-rail.org.uk

 

[MikeWh]

Am I right in thinking tapping the pink Oyster reader was the correct thing to do on Platform 1 at Clapham Junction?

Yes, that should have started a new journey.

According to this article from @MikeWh's Oyster rail website, pink readers can (as of March 2017) no longer be used to touch in at the start of a journey (and never could be used to touch out), however from reading the comments it is not clear whether this ever happened.

Pink Readers – Interchange only – Oyster Fares Central

www.oyster-rail.org.uk

I never did get to the bottom of what happened there. Suffice to say that several people still report using pink readers to start a journey, so I think it's still ok.

 

[johntea]

Checked my bank and TFL charged £5.60 for yesterday so seems it all worked out anyway!

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Checked my bank and TFL charged £5.60 for yesterday so seems it all worked out anyway!

I'd guess it charged you a penalty fare because none of the single fare options on the TFL website suggest £5.60 is the correct fare

I'm assuming you use the Overground to Shepherds Bush, the central line to Ealing Broadway?

Tfl single fare finder clapham to ealing

 

[robbeech]

Is your card linked to a TfL account ? It would be interesting to see what they’ve actually charged you for.

 

[swt_passenger]

I'd guess it charged you a penalty fare because none of the single fare options on the TFL website suggest £5.60 is the correct fare

I'm assuming you use the Overground to Shepherds Bush, the central line to Ealing Broadway?

Tfl single fare finder clapham to ealing

Most likely a “maximum cash fare” for an unresolved journey, rather than a “penalty fare”. I know people tend to use the terms interchangeably, but it’s probably best to be accurate...

 

[superjohn]

I'd guess it charged you a penalty fare because none of the single fare options on the TFL website suggest £5.60 is the correct fare

Or £5.60 was the total for the day, including the earlier journey from Victoria to Clapham Junction.

 

[swt_passenger]

Or £5.60 was the total for the day, including the earlier journey from Victoria to Clapham Junction.

Yes, of course, and therefore the previous conversation about a single £5.60 fare can probably be ignored. Assume a single figure charged to the bank account implies this is a contactless card rather than Oyster PAYG?

 

[MikeWh]

The off-peak incomplete journey fare is £5.70, so it certainly wasn't that. Victoria to Clapham Junction is £2.60 and Clapham Junction to Ealing Broadway avoiding zone 1 is £1.50. Perhaps the OP also used a bus?

 

[johntea]

Ah, perhaps the missing piece of the puzzle is I got to Victoria from Kings Cross!

 

[Wolfie]

I reasonably often go from Canonbury to Grays. I use a paper Z1-2 annual travelcard to West Ham and touch in with Oyster at West Ham where there are Oyster readers at the entrance to the C2C platforms. I have been caught out when engineering work means l have come back via Stratford and there are no obvious Oyster readers for me to touch out with. Staff suggested that l used the pink readers on the Overground platforms but they led to incomplete journey charges and a phone call to TfL. The ultimate solution may be that l have to exit and re-enter the station

 

[superjohn]

I reasonably often go from Canonbury to Grays. I use a paper Z1-2 annual travelcard to West Ham and touch in with Oyster at West Ham where there are Oyster readers at the entrance to the C2C platforms. I have been caught out when engineering work means l have come back via Stratford and there are no obvious Oyster readers for me to touch out with. Staff suggested that l used the pink readers on the Overground platforms but they led to incomplete journey charges and a phone call to TfL. The ultimate solution may be that l have to exit and re-enter the station

There are yellow readers on the platform 9/10 island at Stratford. There is also one on the wall close to the small Pret A Manger at the entrance to the Jubilee platforms. I imagine there are others dotted around at a station with so much interchange potential.

 

[Wolfie]

There are yellow readers on the platform 9/10 island at Stratford. There is also one on the wall close to the small Pret A Manger at the entrance to the Jubilee platforms. I imagine there are others dotted around at a station with so much interchange potential.

Thanks. Guess that l may have to look harder. Not sure which platform the C2Cs use. The Overground is platforms 1 and 2.

 

[superjohn]

Ah, perhaps the missing piece of the puzzle is I got to Victoria from Kings Cross!

That makes sense, King’s Cross to Clapham Junction via Victoria is £4.10 off peak which fits with the other journey.

A question for @MikeWh though... While looking up that fare I noticed King’s Cross to Clapham Junction has cheaper fares as default with via Victoria/Waterloo/Vauxhall being presented as “alternative” route with higher fares. This seems the opposite to normal where the obvious route is presented as the default with higher fares and the less obvious routes being shown as alternatives with cheaper fares. Why would this be?

The cheaper fares would only seem to be achievable by taking the Victoria line to Highbury and Islington and then a lengthy Overground journey around East or West London. That doesn’t strike me as the most obvious routing for the everyday traveller.

 

[JonathanH]

While looking up that fare I noticed King’s Cross to Clapham Junction has cheaper fares as default with via Victoria/Waterloo/Vauxhall being presented as “alternative” route with higher fares. This seems the opposite to normal where the obvious route is presented as the default with higher fares and the less obvious routes being shown as alternatives with cheaper fares. Why would this be?

The cheaper fares would only seem to be achievable by taking the Victoria line to Highbury and Islington and then a lengthy Overground journey around East or West London. That doesn’t strike me as the most obvious routing for the everyday traveller.

A cheaper fare for Zones 1-2 applies for 'TfL only' than for 'mixed mode'.

I think the point here is that the TfL only route on Oyster doesn't require a pink reader so more expensive options are the exception.

The more obvious TfL only route from Kings Cross to Clapham Junction than travelling via Highbury & Islington (which might put you at risk of timing out in the event of missing a connection) is to travel via Earls Court and West Brompton.

Kings Cross to Clapham North / Clapham High Street to Clapham Junction should also be the default fare.

 

[MikeWh]

The more obvious TfL only route from Kings Cross to Clapham Junction than travelling via Highbury & Islington (which might put you at risk of timing out in the event of missing a connection) is to travel via Earls Court and West Brompton.

Yes, that's what I was thinking too.