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Travelcards)
A Travelcard is an intermodal ticket for public transport in London, valid in a number of zones and for a period of time varying from one day to one year.
Modal validity
A Travelcard allows the holder to use the following modes of transport without further charge:
On the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail, the Travelcard is only valid within the Travelcard Zones indicated on the ticket. On London Buses, any Travelcard can be used any journey within Greater London irrespective of the Travelcard Zones indicated on the ticket. On London Trams, any Travelcard can be used for any journey provided the Travelcard is valid in one or more of Travelcard Zones 3 to 6.
Travelcards also entitle the holder to discounts on some London River Services.
Geographic validity
In general, Travelcards are only valid within a number of zones in Greater London. There are six numbered zones within Greater London which are arranged concentrically, with Zone 1 including the central area, and Zone 6 including outlying towns such as Kingston, Uxbridge, Loughton and Upminster. Travelcards can be issued in various combinations of zones.
There are three circumstances in which Travelcards can be used outside Greater London:
- Travelcards can be bought for travel between any National Rail station outside Greater London, and a Travelcard zone within Greater London. Such Travelcards can only be bought from National Rail stations, and are not issued in one-day peak or three day forms. These Travelcards essentially combine a Travelcard, for use within Greater London, with a rail return (for one day Travelcards) or season (for longer validities) ticket from the nominated station to the Greater London boundary, and are valid in the same way as if such a combination was issued seperately. One day Travelcards which include validity on National Rail routes outside Greater London are only valid for one journey in each direction on the rail route. Once the return part of the rail journey is completed the travelcard ceases to be valid.
Periodic validity
Travelcards are issued for periods of one, three and seven days, or for any period from one month to one year. One and three day Travelcards can be purchased in either peak or off-peak variants. The peak variant can be used at any time, whilst the cheaper off-peak variant can be used at any time on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, but not before 09:30 on other days. Travelcards for seven days or longer all allow travel at any time of day. A Travelcard is valid up until 04:30 on the day following its last day of marked validity.
When bought at a Tube station, One, three and seven day Travelcards can be purchased on a card with a magnetic strip. Seven day Travelcards can also be loaded onto an Oyster Card. A Travelcard lasting more than seven days can only be purchased on an Oyster Card. Although one day Travelcards cannot be explicitly loaded onto Oyster Cards, any user of Oyster pre-pay will have the cost of any single tickets purchased during a single day capped to a maximum of the price of the appropriate Travelcard to cover the journeys made.
When bought at a National Rail station or through a NR Telesales office, Travelcards of any period of validity can be bought on a card with a magnetic strip. Depending on the operator issuing the card, Travelcards of a month or mores validity can attract discounts due to poor service when renewed. There are two performance monitors, the number of trains cancelled and the number of trains running to time, and if one or other of these monitors falls below a certain threshold a discount of 5% (or 10% if both monitors are below the threshold) applies to all renewed season tickets (including Travelcards) with a month or more's validity.
Photocards are only required for travelcards of seven days or more which include travel on the National Rail network outside London, or Travelcards of a month or mores validity issued on paper by a National Rail station. Special photocards are issued to those who receive a discount, such as students.
See also
Sources
Last updated: 08-09-2005 20:23:40
Last updated: 08-17-2005 00:01:10
