Vauxhall OSI

[railmouse]

I have recently moved area in London and Mortlake (in SW London) is my local station. It seems crazy that you pay an almost double fare to get into Zone 1 when travelling via Vauxhall or Waterloo. I have read the explanation of why on another thread here (all about the money!)

Can anyone explain what the point of the OSI at Vauxhall is, if SWR is the only rail company which goes to Vauxhall NR, but using the OSI doesn't make the Oyster PAYG fare the same as a normal Zone 1-3 fare. Many thanks.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I have recently moved area in London and Mortlake (in SW London) is my local station. It seems crazy that you pay an almost double fare to get into Zone 1 when travelling via Vauxhall or Waterloo. I have read the explanation of why on another thread here (all about the money!)

Can anyone explain what the point of the OSI at Vauxhall is, if SWR is the only rail company which goes to Vauxhall NR, but using the OSI doesn't make the Oyster PAYG fare the same as a normal Zone 1-3 fare. Many thanks.

As Vauxhall LU is a physically separate station from Vauxhall NR, without the OSI you'd be charged separately for the two journeys. Similarly getting from Chiltern to the Bakerloo Line at Marylebone involves passing through two sets of gates.

Another example is King's Cross St Pancras, which has multiple internal OSIs as interchanging to/from the sub-surface lines can be done via the gatelines as well as entirely on the "paid" side of the gates.

 

[Llanigraham]

OSI?

 

[swt_passenger]

OSI?

Out of station interchange. Joins separate journeys into one when you have to go through gatelines en route, typically if NR and LU stations are physically separate.

 

[JonathanH]

normal Zone 1-3 fare

What is a normal Zone 1-3 fare in this context?

 

[railmouse]

As Vauxhall LU is a physically separate station from Vauxhall NR, without the OSI you'd be charged separately for the two journeys. Similarly getting from Chiltern to the Bakerloo Line at Marylebone involves passing through two sets of gates.

Another example is King's Cross St Pancras, which has multiple internal OSIs as interchanging to/from the sub-surface lines can be done via the gatelines as well as entirely on the "paid" side of the gates.

Thanks for your reply but the TfL fare checker is saying it will cost £6.30 peak or £5.20 off-peak.

I used to pay £3.70 and £3.00 respectively for a single zone 1-3 journey at my old station.

What is a normal Zone 1-3 fare in this context?

£3.60 peak and £3.00 off-peak before the increase this April.

It’s just charged me £3.40 for Mortlake to Vauxhall. I’ll see what happens when I get off the tube!

 

[Hadders]

Higher fares are charged for single journeys if you use a combination of National Rail and Underground to make a journey. It's often referred to as a 'mixed mode' tax.

What is your exact journey?

 

[swt_passenger]

Thanks for your reply but the TfL fare checker is saying it will cost £6.30 peak or £5.20 off-peak.

I used to pay £3.70 and £3.00 respectively for a single zone 1-3 journey at my old station.


£3.60 peak and £3.00 off-peak before the increase this April.

South of the Thames, when Oyster PAYG was introduced the 3 main TOCs were not prepared to change to the standard TfL fare scales, and since a Zone 3 - Zone 1 journey is charged on a NR + TfL ‘mixed mode’ scale. It’s not caused directly by the OSI, it would be the same fare if you were able to change somewhere within the paid area. It’s based on where you start on NR and where you finish on TFL, presumably within zone 1.

But north of the river, PAYG was already in use on some TOCs such as Chiltern - but they were already charging on the basis of the interavailable LU fares which had been in place for many years.

This differential isn’t new, it’s been the case since about 2010. As the previous poster mentioned it’s usually referred to as a ‘mixed mode tax’. It doesn’t change the capping figures though.

 

[railmouse]

Higher fares are charged for single journeys if you use a combination of National Rail and Underground to make a journey. It's often referred to as a 'mixed mode' tax.

What is your exact journey?

Mortlake to Oxford Circus Vauxhall. It was £5.20.

So why have the OSI at Vauxhall - what fares/ routes is it capping?

Mortlake to Oxford Circus Vauxhall. It was £5.20.

So why have the OSI at Vauxhall - what fares/ routes is it capping?

I meant via Vauxhall.

South of the Thames, when Oyster PAYG was introduced the 3 main TOCs were not prepared to change to the standard TfL fare scales, and since a Zone 3 - Zone 1 journey is charged on a NR + TfL ‘mixed mode’ scale. It’s not caused directly by the OSI, it would be the same fare if you were able to change somewhere within the paid area. It’s based on where you start on NR and where you finish on TFL, presumably within zone 1.

But north of the river, PAYG was already in use on some TOCs such as Chiltern - but they were already charging on the basis of the interavailable LU fares which had been in place for many years.

This differential isn’t new, it’s been the case since about 2010. As the previous poster mentioned it’s usually referred to as a ‘mixed mode tax’. It doesn’t change the capping figures though.

Thank you - just a shock having not not mixed modes since pre-Covid when I would always have a travelcard.

 

[JonathanH]

So why have the OSI at Vauxhall - what fares/ routes is it capping?

Some journeys will be charged at the National Rail scale for a journey to Zone 2, then Underground in Zone 1 when changing at Vauxhall.

In contrast, the National Rail part when changing at Waterloo is charged for a journey to Zone 1.

OSIs are helpful for many through journeys. For example, I changed from South Tottenham to Severn Sisters yesterday because it was more convenient that changing at Blackhorse Road. It is unreasonable to penalise the use of nearby stations relatuve to interchanges entirely within the gated area.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Mortlake to Oxford Circus Vauxhall. It was £5.20.

So why have the OSI at Vauxhall - what fares/ routes is it capping?

The TfL Single Fare Finder offers two routes for that journey:

The default route (i.e. via Waterloo) is £6.30 Peak / £5.20 Off-Peak, and the alternative route (changing at Vauxhall or Queenstown Road/Battersea Power Station) is £6.20 Peak / £5.20 Off-Peak.

A better example is Richmond to Oxford Circus, which has three routes:

• Default route (LU all the way): £4.40 Peak / £3.20 Off-Peak (TfL fare scale)
• Changing between NR and LU at Waterloo, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, London Bridge, Victoria or Waterloo East (for Southwark): £7.00 Peak / £5.60 Off-Peak (Mixed Mode scale)
• Changing between NR and LU at Vauxhall or Queenstown Road/Battersea Power Station: £6.60 Peak / £5.60 Off-Peak (Seemingly split Z4 Mixed Mode or NR only scale + TfL Z1-3 scale)

 

[Haywain]

So why have the OSI at Vauxhall - what fares/ routes is it capping?

There are two separate stations behind separate gate lines, so there has to be an out of station interchange to join journeys together.