Travelcard
549002
223924212
2008-07-06T15:14:11Z
125.24.54.231
+th
{{Refimprove|date=June 2008}}
{{otheruses|Travel card}}
[[Image:London Underground One-Day Travelcard.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[London Underground]] One-Day Travelcard]]
[[Image:london-underground-travelcard-2006.jpg|thumb|200px|right|One Day Travelcard issued at a [[National Rail]] outlet]]A '''Travelcard''' is an inter-modal ticket, valid for a period of time varying from one day to a year, for use on most [[public transport]] in [[London]]. The ticket is issued by [[Transport for London]] and [[National Rail]] outlets and can be used on the services of either.
== History ==
Prior to the introduction of the travelcard, travellers in Greater London had to pay separately each time they changed between
[[London Regional Transport|London Transport]]'s bus and Underground services. This caused inconvenience as it led to delays while purchasing the next ticket after changing from one means of transport to the next.
The introduction of an integrated ticket was one of the key promises made in 1981 by the newly-elected [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] administration of the [[Greater London Council]], headed by council leader [[Ken Livingstone]]. The policy, marketed under the slogan "Just The Ticket", introduced an integrated ticket for London Transport bus and Underground services together with a substantial reduction in fares. The price cut was then ruled illegal, but the integrated pricing scheme was a considerable success and was extended during the 1980s and 1990s as new transport routes were opened in London.
By 1985, there were two travelcards: the Travelcard itself, which covered only London Buses and the Underground, and the Capitalcard, which covered most bus, Underground and local British Rail (BR) services. The Travelcard replaced the original Capitalcard, while including its greater availability, around 1989.
The original zonal system was mainly contained by the boundary of Greater London. The zone designations used both letters and numbers for the outermost zones such that bus availability ignored the letter while BR and Underground availability depended also upon the letter(s) - e.g. a Travelcard or Capitalcard valid in zone 3a (but not 3b or 3c) was valid on buses in zones 3a, 3b and 3c but only in zone 3a when used on the railway services.
== Transport modes ==
A Travelcard entitles the holder to use the following modes of transport within [[Greater London]]:
*[[London Buses]], including some services that terminate outside of Greater London<ref name=1and3daytickets>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1055.aspx |title=1 and 3 day tickets |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref>
*[[London Underground]]
*[[London Overground]]
*[[Docklands Light Railway]]
*[[National Rail]] except for the [[Heathrow Express]]<ref name=railplus>{{cite web |url=http://www.railplus.com.au/pass.cfm?pass=the-london-travelcard&page=details |title=London Travelcard (details) |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref>
*[[Tramlink]]
Travelcards also entitle the holder to a 33% discount on some [[London River Services]].<ref name=Victoriaschool>{{cite web |url=http://www.victoriaschool.co.uk/learn-english/london/london_travel_card.html |title=Travelling in London |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref>
== Periodic validity ==
Travelcards are issued for periods of one, three and seven days, or for any period from one month to one year. It is valid until any journey commencing before 04.30 on the day following its last marked day of validity.
One- and three-day Travelcards can be purchased in ''peak'' and ''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 weekdays. Off-peak day Travelcards are typically 50% cheaper than peak Travelcards. Travelcards for seven days or longer allow travel at any time of day.
==Paper and Oyster==
When bought at a Tube station or other Transport for London agent, one- and three-day Travelcards are sold on a paper ticket with a magnetic strip, and Travelcards lasting seven days or more are loaded on to an [[Oyster Card]].
== The zones ==
Travelcards provide travel within six numbered [[concentric]] zones, with [[Travelcard Zone 1|Zone 1]] (which includes the central areas of [[City of London|The City]] and the [[West End of London|West End]]) at the middle and [[Travelcard Zone 6|Zone 6]] (which includes [[London Heathrow Airport]] and places such as [[Uxbridge]], [[Upminster]] and [[Orpington]]) at the outer edge ([http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/lon_con.pdf Travelcard zones map on TfL website]).
The zones are used in different ways on each mode of transport, such that:
{| class="wikitable"
! Mode || Validity
|-
| London Underground || rowspan="3" | only within the zones indicated on the ticket
|-
| DLR
|-
| National Rail
|-
| London Buses || any travelcard, on any route
|-
| Tramlink || any travelcard valid in zones 3, 4, 5, or 6, on any route
|}
===Zone combinations===
Travelcards are sold in a limited number of combinations of adjacent zones with different combinations available depending on time and length of validity. Travelcards for only one zone are not sold.
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Validity
! scope="col" | Peak combinations
! scope="col" | Off-peak combinations
|-
| 1 day
| 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-9, 2-6, 2-9 || 1-2, 1-4, 1-6, 1-9, 2-6, 2-9
|-
| 3 days
| 1-2, 1-6 || 1-6
|-
| Weekly and longer
| 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, 1-9, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5,<br> 2-6, 2-7, 2-9, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, 4-9, 5-6 || n/a
|}
==Exceptions==
A few public transport routes in London do not accept the Travelcard. The most significant is the [[Heathrow Express]] rail shuttle to [[Heathrow Airport]], which is not part of the Travelcard scheme despite operating wholly within the zonal boundaries. Travelcards are accepted between [[Paddington]] and [[Hayes and Harlington]] on the slower [[Heathrow Connect]] service, but not between Hayes and Heathrow.<ref name="Heathrowconnect">{{cite web|url=http://www.heathrowconnect.com/default.aspx?pageid=44|title=Heathrow Connect N/A|accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref>
[[River Thames|Thames]] riverboat services, notably the commuter service operated by [[Thames Clipper]]s, are not fully integrated into the Travelcard scheme. However, they do offer 33% discounts for Travelcard holders.<ref name="Victoriaschool"/>
==Outside Greater London==
=== Travelcards ===
There are various services outside Greater London on which travelcards can be used. These are:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Exception || Fare charging
|-
| Six [[Central Line]] stations in the [[Epping Forest (district)|Epping Forest]] district of [[Essex]]<ref>Epping Forest District Council - [http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/community/transport/the_tube.asp London Underground - The Tube]</ref> (and two on the boundary)<ref>Office of Public Sector Information - [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1993/Uksi_19931218_en_1.htm The Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) (No.2) Order 1993]</ref> || included in zones 4, 5 and 6
|-
| Seven [[Metropolitan Line]] stations in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire || included in local ancillary zones 7, 8 and 9<ref name=map>Transport for London - [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/lon_con.pdf London Connections Map]</ref><ref name=fares_2008>Transport for London - [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/guide-to-fares-and-tickets-08-01-02.pdf Your guide to fares and tickets]. [[2 January]] [[2008]]</ref>
|-
| Three [[London Overground]] stations in Hertfordshire || included in local ancillary zones 7 and 8<ref name=map/><ref name=fares_2008/>
|-
| Fourteen [[National Rail]] stations just outside Greater London || included in zones 5 and 6
|-
| Some [[London Buses]] services that cross the Greater London boundary<ref>Transport for London - [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Guide-to-using-tickets-and-PAYG-on-buses-outside-London2007-V2.pdf Your guide to using tickets and Oyster to pay as you go on buses outside the Greater London area]</ref> || all travelcards are valid for the whole route
|}
=== Combined tickets ===
From outside Greater London, National Rail tickets can be purchased combining a day return ticket with a one-day travelcard. These include one journey to and from London and standard travelcard validity within London. There is some confusion over whether the Travelcard portion remains valid after returning from London. The [[National Fares Manua]]l simply states passengers may "retain their tickets for travel on permitted London bus services that operate outside the London Fare Zones area"<ref>Association of Train Operating Companies - [http://www.atoc.org/retail/_downloads/NFM98/NFM98_Common_K.pdf National Rail Fares Manual Section K]</ref>, but offers no indication about other services. Another part of the manual says the ticket is valid "throughout the selected Travelcard Zones [...] for any journey that starts before 0430 on the following day"<ref>Association of Train Operating Companies - [http://www.atoc.org/retail/_downloads/NFM98/NFM98_Common_E.pdf National Rail Fares Manual Section E]</ref>.
Additionally, National Rail season tickets can include Travelcard validity.
==Extensions==
When travelling beyond the zonal validity of a paper travelcard on the London Underground an extension ticket can be purchased. When the Travelcard is charged to an Oyster Card the relevant fare, slightly discounted, is automatically deducted from the pre-pay balance on the card.
When travelling on the rail network beyond the zonal validity of a Travelcard or outside London, Travelcard holders can buy 'ticket extensions', slightly cheaper than a ticket to cover the whole distance, since the Travelcard already covers the journey as far as the edge of the zone. Such tickets state 'Boundary Zone N' as the departure station. These tickets are not available from machines, and Travelcard holders may need to show their original ticket in order to buy an extension. They are available, sometimes with some difficulty, from National Rail ticket offices outside of the London Zones. Note that while single and return tickets with a boundary as the ''origin'' are available, tickets with a boundary as the ''destination'' are not.
A special exception is made for a Travelcard season tickets (7 days or longer) which allows the user to buy a train ticket (though not another season ticket) based on the first station covered by the Travelcard, regardless of whether the train stops there. For example: If a traveller has a Zone 1-3 Travelcard and wishes to purchase a ticket from [[Guildford railway station|Guildford]] to [[Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]] they need only buy a ticket from Guildford to [[Wimbledon railway station|Wimbledon]] as Wimbledon is the first station on this route which is within Zone 3. This is valid even if the train does not actually stop at Wimbledon.<ref>National Rail - [http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/nrcc Conditions of Carriage]</ref>
==Photocards==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=June 2008}}
Photocards are plastic cards containing a photograph of the ticket holder. When certain tickets are purchased they are "linked" to the photocards so they can only be used by that person. They are required only for Travelcards of seven days or more that include travel on the [[National Rail]] network outside London, or Travelcards of a month or more's validity issued on a paper ticket by a National Rail station. Weekly Travelcards issued on paper from National Rail stations no longer require photocards,(within the 1-6 London travelcard zones){{Fact|date=June 2008}} though most self-service ticket machines have not yet been updated to reflect this change in policy. When purchasing a weekly Travelcard from self-service ticket machines the purchaser may be asked to input their photocard number - passengers can simply enter a combination such as "00000" to work around this.
Special photocards are issued to those who receive a discount, such as students.
==Performance discounts==
Travelcards of a month or more sold by a National Rail operator, depending on the operator issuing the card, 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.
==See also==
*[[Carte orange]] similar to Travelcard, used in [[Île-de-France (région)|Île de France]]
*[[Creditrans]] similar to Travelcard, used in the [[Greater Bilbao]] region.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{LULZones}}
[[Category:Fare collection systems]]
[[Category:Fare collection systems in London]]
[[cs:Travelcard]]
[[de:Travelcard]]
[[nl:Travelcard]]
[[sk:Travelcard]]
[[th:บัตรเดินทางในลอนดอน]]