Department for Transport

Zonal fares for London trains pave the way for smart ticketing
_______________________________________________________________

date 19 Oct 2006 00:00
source Department for Transport
type Press release

A new simple fares structure for London train travel was announced today by Rail Minister Tom Harris. From January 2007, the pricing for single and return rail tickets within London will be based on the same familiar zones already used for Underground and Travelcard tickets.

The new structure will help pave the way for Oyster pay-as-you-go smart ticketing to be rolled out across national rail in London over the next few years. It will simplify the current complex system of individually-priced station-to-station fares. There are over 330 rail stations within the Travelcard zones, and at present each of 97,300 different station-to-station combinations has its own set of fares. These will be replaced by just 21 zone-to-zone combinations, with a single, return and cheap day return set for each.

Announcing the new structure, Tom Harris said:

"This removes a barrier to the introduction of smart ticketing, bringing seamless travel for London passengers closer. The new system is simple and sensible. It will make train fares in different parts of London consistent with each other and will use the zones that travellers are already familiar with.

"The zonal fares are another step in rolling out Oyster pay-as-you-go across national rail in London over the next few years. As other smartcards are rolled out outside London, passengers across the country will start to benefit from integrated smartcard ticketing on all modes of travel."

Steve Howes, Director of London, Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said:

"We will work with the Department for Transport to implement this historic change to London's fare structure. It is designed to make travel around London's rail network easier and simpler for passengers. It will also enable the introduction of Oyster Pay as you Go across London's overground rail network."

Brian Cooke, Chairman of London Travelwatch, said:

"This is a great boost for London. Research shows that the complexity of fares is one of the barriers to greater use of the railway and we hope today's announcement will substantially remove that barrier. We believe this simplified system will make travelling across London and on different modes of transport much easier and ensure passengers are always sold the cheapest and most appropriate tickets for their journey."

As compatible smartcards based on the ITSO (integrated transport smartcard organisation) standard are rolled out outside the capital, passengers will be able to benefit from national smartcard-enabled through-ticketing on all modes of travel.

Notes to Editors

1. The new prices are as follows:

LONDON ZONAL FARES

To take effect 02.01.07

Prices to be charged for rail journeys, rail tube journeys and rail - tube - rail journeys wholly within London

RAIL ONLY
No of Zones Peak Peak Cheap Day single Return Rtn
Adult Child Adult Child Adult Child
1 £1.80 £0.90 £3.60 £1.80 £2.70 £1.00
12 £2.10 £1.05 £3.70 £1.85 £3.00 £1.00
123 £2.70 £1.35 £4.60 £2.30 £3.60 £1.00
1234 £3.10 £1.55 £5.30 £2.65 £4.00 £1.00
12345 £3.80 £1.90 £7.20 £3.60 £4.70 £1.00
123456 £4.80 £2.40 £9.20 £4.60 £5.70 £1.00
2,3,4,5 or 6 £1.50 £0.75 £2.60 £1.30 £2.40 £1.00
23,34,45,56 £1.90 £0.95 £3.30 £1.65 £2.80 £1.00
234,345,456 £2.30 £1.15 £4.00 £2.00 £3.20 £1.00
2345, 3456 £2.70 £1.35 £4.70 £2.35 £3.60 £1.00
23456 £3.10 £1.55 £5.60 £2.80 £4.00 £1.00

RAIL - TUBE

ALSO RAIL - TUBE - RAIL

No of Zones Peak Peak Cheap Day single Return Rtn
Adult Child Adult Child Adult Child
1 £4.00 £2.00 £7.60 £3.80 £6.70 £2.00
12 £4.10 £2.00 £7.70 £3.80 £7.00 £2.00
123 £4.70 £2.30 £8.60 £4.30 £7.60 £2.00
1234 £5.10 £2.50 £9.30 £4.60 £8.00 £2.00
12345 £5.80 £2.90 £11.20 £5.60 £8.70 £2.00
123456 £6.80 £3.40 £13.20 £6.60 £9.70 £2.00
2,3,4,5 or 6 £3.00 £1.50 £5.60 £2.80 £5.40 £2.00
23,34,45,56 £3.40 £1.70 £6.30 £3.10 £5.80 £2.00
234,345,456 £3.80 £1.90 £7.00 £3.50 £6.20 £2.00
2345, 3456 £4.20 £2.10 £7.70 £3.80 £6.60 £2.00
23456 £4.60 £2.30 £8.60 £4.30 £7.00 £2.00

2. The Future of Rail White Paper announced DfT's intent to work with the Mayor of London on rationalising fares and ticketing technology within the GLA boundary.

3. Franchise agreements of London train operators have been changed. The operators affected are c2c, Chiltern, First Capital Connect, First Great Western, 'One', Silverlink, South Eastern, South West Trains, Southern.

* Operators will be required to set peak single, peak return and off-peak return fares for journeys wholly within London on a zonal basis from January 2007.

* Operators will be required to set rail-only seasons on a similar zonal basis from January 2010.

4. The prices for the new zonal peak singles and returns (and from 2010, seasons) will remain subject to the limits set by fares regulation. As a result, London commuters will on average pay no more using the new zonal fares than they would had current fares continued an been increased as permitted by regulation. Operators will not make a net gain from the change in these fares.

5. As part of a deal announced in May this year, Transport for London has agreed to install Oyster Card validation equipment in all national rail stations zones 1-6. This will include smartcard readers, station equipment and back office support systems. The train operator must operate and maintain it. The Department for Transport has agreed to fund upgrades to existing Oyster equipment in London to make Oyster gates and validators on the Underground, at joint stations and on the buses, accept basic alternative Smartcard (ITSO) products. The expected cost is around £19m.

6. The recently awarded South Western rail franchise will roll out ITSO smartcard technology across the franchise area by 2009 and also accept existing Oyster products in London zones 1 - 6.

7. DfT sponsors the Integrated Ticketing Smartcard Organisation (ITSO). ITSO Specifications enable interoperability between different ticketing schemes nationally. Oyster was designed prior to the introduction of ITSO. There are a number of ITSO smartcard schemes currently under development in the UK.

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

Railhub Archive ::: 2006-10-19 DfT-001