It’s a bit galling to read today that fare increases in train travel are drawing criticism. Yes they are awful, but come on, we’ve known about them for months. So moaning on the day they go up is pointless.
Still I do have sympathy for tourists in London. Anybody from out of town is getting really stung on the Tube now unless they have a tracking device Oyster Card. A Zone 1 fare has gone up from £3 to £4 if you pay cash. It’s only £l;1.50 on a Pay As You Go Oyster Card. But of course tourists and visitors who don’t buy a Travelcard are pretty unlikely to go to the hassle of filling out a form and paying the £3.00 “refundable deposit” for the card. And if they do, they’ll inevitably leave London with credit still on the card – cash that they’re unlikely to get back.
As someone in one of today’s papers points out, if there are five of you, and you want to make a single trip across the middle of London, and you don’t have Oyster Cards, you’re almost certainly better off taking a cab than jumping on the tube, since your fare is most unlikely to be more than £20.
Transport Prices
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2 responses to “Transport Prices”
unless they have a tracking device Oyster Card
You’re under no obligation to register your Oyster Card under your name, and similarly under no obligation to give a valid address. You can also return your Oyster at any ticket office for a full refund. Sorry to burst the bubble…
I know this. And I suspect criminals do. But considering that the police are now making dozens (possibly hundreds) of requests a month for tracking info from Oyster Cards, I still think it’s fair to consider them as such.
And a refunable deposit is fine in principle, but I’m not so sure that filling out an Oyster Card application when I arrive into the country at Heathrow Terminal Four or from Glasgow at Euston for just a quick weekend trip is likely to be top of my priorities as a visitor. I’m much more likely to leave thinking about what ripoff prices they charge for the Underground…