01.11.06
Zonal fares for London trains pave the way for smart ticketing
A new simple fares structure for London train travel was announced on 19th October 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.
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