Touching in/out with travelcard

[ashworth]

I know this subject has probably been raised many times before but I'm not quite sure of the rules.

Next week I'm staying near Vauxhall in London and will have a 7 Day Zones 1 to 6 travelcard loaded onto my Oyster card. Do you always have to touch in and out on the Oyster card readers when using a travelcard?

The reason I'm asking is that I want to do a few journeys outside Zone 6 making use of some reasonably priced day return journeys from boundary stations. I'm intending doing Ewell East to Bognor via Horsham, Surbiton to Alton and Upminster to Shoeburyness. Instead of travelling to the boundary station, touching out, and then purchasing my day return and travelling by a later train can I buy my day return at Vauxhall and remain on the train without getting off to touch out? This would be especially useful on the return journey but I wondered what the situation would be at Vauxhall, regarding journey history recording, when I touched out with an Oyster card that had never been touched in at the beginning of a journey.

Does anyone have any more good ideas for reasonably priced journeys in any direction from boundary stations. I already know about the very good Southern ticket from East Croydon via Barnham to Weymouth but won't be using that one this time because the SWT £20 deal is on for journeys in that direction.

 

[James Wake]

Are you heading to the Mid Hants Railway at Alton, if so you will love it, beautiful line, scenic, good staff. You can get a direct train from Clapham Junction to Bognor Regis every 30 mins Mon-Sat and hourly on Sundays, so that will be easier rather than changing at Epsom and Horsham. Why not think about doing the Bluebell and Spa Valley Railways in one go with a Southern Off Peak DaySave (£17.90) book more than three days in advance. http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/daysave-off-peak/, you can travel from Clapham Junction to East Grinstead, do the Bluebell, then travel back to Hurst Green then down to Eridge for the Spa Valley Railway, then back up to East Croydon (or down to Uckfield first if you want to clear the line), then catch a train back up to Clapham Junction. You could do this in reverse too. Enjoy your time around London.

 

[Reason077]

You are not required to always touch in and out if you have an appropriate travelcard loaded onto your Oyster, as long as you're travelling within the zones covered by your travelcard, or you have an onward ticket from the zone boundary.

 

[James Wake]

What days do you have available, the Spa Valley has a Peppa Pig themed event on the 27th August, and only runs on weekends during August, whereas the Bluebell runs daily, so if you want to do a weekday, buy a simple Boundary to East Grinstead return and just do the Bluebell.

 

[Hadders]

If you have a travelcard season loaded on your Osyter card it doesn't matter if you touch in but then don't touch out.

 

[ashworth]

If you have a travelcard season loaded on your Osyter card it doesn't matter if you touch in but then don't touch out.

So therefore I presume it also doesn't matter if you touch out when you haven't touched in!

 

[Hadders]

So therefore I presume it also doesn't matter if you touch out when you haven't touched in!

Correct! As long as you're touching within a zone your travelcard covers.

 

[Blindtraveler]

So in theory you could have a days bashing on DLR or Tramlink with a Oyster Travelcard and not touch at all? I know not advisable, but not illegal?

 

[Peter Sarf]

IF you are using Oyster Prepay (not an Oyster season) then you must be very careful.

Ensure you touch in and touch out. If you take too long over a journey (due to delays or admiring the trains) you will be charged £4.40 for not touching out and then a further £4.40 when you do touch out because the system assumes you did not touch in !.

Furthermore the Oyster cap will not happen and all journeys for that day will be charged. I have not proved this last bit recently but have in the past racked up almost £30 for what would normally be about £7.5 before the last rises.

You can claim it all back if you have a good excuse and if you want to spend forever on the phone. You can also try sorting it on-line but only once a month.

It is why, if I am planning a leisure trip, I only use my Oyster prepay to get the bus to East Croydon station. I then buy a paper one day travel card as this is a LOT less stress even if I waste a few pounds.

I repeat this does not apply to Oyster Seasons BUT I mention it here in case someone assumes Oyster Prepay works the same - it does not !.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Indeed, I was referring to a season. I also often buy a paper travel card esp if going bashing but this thread interested me as I will quite son have a need to spend 4 days in the smoke and am considdering a 7 day Oyster Travel card to avoid potential probs with PAYG and for extra flexibleness - going bashing after work may well happen!

 

[PermitToTravel]

It's not really inadvisable - if you don't need to get through a ticket gate then touching the readers won't do anything.

The exception is if you'd like to make a journey out of your zones - then you need to touch in at your origin and touch out at your destination, even if either end of the journey is in your zones.

 

[MikeWh]

IF you are using Oyster Prepay (not an Oyster season) then you must be very careful.

Technically it's an Oyster card holding a travelcard season.

Ensure you touch in and touch out. If you take too long over a journey (due to delays or admiring the trains) you will be charged £4.40 for not touching out and then a further £4.40 when you do touch out because the system assumes you did not touch in !.

Not sure what sort of card you've got, but usually it is £7.60 peak (£5.20 off-peak) each time, although can be up to £8.80.

Furthermore the Oyster cap will not happen and all journeys for that day will be charged. I have not proved this last bit recently but have in the past racked up almost £30 for what would normally be about £7.5 before the last rises.

Each incomplete journey will not count towards the cap, but any properly completed ones still will count.

It is why, if I am planning a leisure trip, I only use my Oyster prepay to get the bus to East Croydon station. I then buy a paper one day travel card as this is a LOT less stress even if I waste a few pounds.

Each to their own, but the difference in price is growing, especially if you only use zones nearer to London than zone 6.

I repeat this does not apply to Oyster Seasons BUT I mention it here in case someone assumes Oyster Prepay works the same - it does not !.

Again, Oyster is the physical card used to hold either travelcard seasons or pre-pay credit, or both.

 

[Tetchytyke]

As it is a season ticket you can stay on the train and your train does not have to stop at the station where you change tickets. You might want to look at tickets from boundary zone six too, depending on your planned routes.

You must touch in and out with your Oyster at the start and end of your journey, but you are not charged a penalty if you are in your zones and have not done so. This is mostly so you can do a 19c split without having to exit the station- doing a 19c split, the end of your journey probably won't have an Oyster reader.

 

[ashworth]

Thanks for all the information. I didn't think that I had to touch in and out every time with a 7 Day Travel Card but I wanted to be sure.

What a week to have booked to stay at the Travelodge in Vauxhall right next to the tube, bus and rail stations with the tube strikes planned! I'd got a cheap offer and had planned to spend the week exploring London before moving on stay at friends in Purley the following week. I'd already sorted out lots of trips from Purley to the south using trains and the Discovery Bus Ticket.

Now with the tube strike it looks like my plans to spend the first week in London will be best also spent travelling south out of London rather than trying to travel around London in the chaos. I hope it won't be too bad travelling out of London in the mornings and returning in the evenings from Vauxhall as at least I will be traveling in the opposite direction to the majority of people. Perhaps if I have to change at Clapham Junction it will be a bit busy but at least I won't have to queue there to enter or exit the barriers.

The reason why I'm going to travel to Bognor via Dorking rather than on a direct train from Clapham Junction is that it is half the price for a Day Return by that route from Ewell East or West as it is to many south coast rather than from East Croydon or Coulsdon South. Tickets from Ewell via Dorking are much cheaper to many South Coast destinations and it may be slower but it's a nice route to travel.