Travelcard for London

(England Twitter)-Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelcards can be purchased for a period of time varying from one day to a year, from Transport for London, National Rail and their agents. Depending on where it is purchased, and the length of validity, a Travelcard is either printed on a paper ticket with a magnetic stripe or encoded onto a reusable contactless electronic smart card, known as an Oyster card. The cost of a Travelcard is determined by the area it covers and, for this purpose, London is divided into a number of fare zones. The Travelcard season ticket for unlimited travel on London Buses and the London Underground was launched on 22 May 1983 by London Transport. One Day Travelcards and validity on other transport modes were added from 1984 onwards. The introduction of the Travelcard caused an increase in patronage and reduced the number of tickets that needed to be purchased by passengers.

Revenue Allocation

The revenues from Travelcard sales are divided according to a scheme agreed by TfL and ATOC. A quarterly survey known as the Travelcard Diary Survey is undertaken, where travelcard holders are asked to record all the bus, rail and tube trips they have made using their travelcard. Both "in-boundary" and "out-boundary" (i.e. travelcards in or outside of the zonal areas) are surveyed, as well as day and monthly, weekly and annual travelcards. Ensuring that a statistically valid sample that will give a fair and accurate allocation presents a particular challenge, especially given the low response rate of the survey. The average mileage recorded on each mode is then calculated for each "stratum" of diaries, where a stratum is a set of diaries where the travel patterns can be expected to be similar (e.g. all travelcards sold by a particular TOC.) These strata splits are then weighted by their total sales to give final allocation factors of the travelcard revenue to tube, bus and rail.

Operation

A Travelcard entitles the holder to unlimited travel in Greater London on London Buses, Tramlink, London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail services.Travelcards are issued for periods of one or seven days, or for any period from one month to one year. They provide travel within six numbered concentric zones, with Zone 1 (which includes the central areas of The City and the West End) at the middle and Zone 6 (which includes London Heathrow Airport and outlying suburbs such as Uxbridge, Upminster and Orpington) at the outer edge. On the London Underground, London Overground, DLR and National Rail, the Travelcard is only valid within the zones indicated on the ticket. On London Buses any Travelcard can be used on any route. On Tramlink any Travelcard valid in zones 3, 4, 5, or 6 can be used on any tram route. Travelcards are sold in a limited number of combinations of adjacent zones with different combinations available depending on the length of validity. Travelcards for only one zone are no longer sold, having been withdrawn in 2006. Travelcards valid for travel in Zone 1 (most of central London) are more expensive than those excluding it, although as of 2011 one-day travelcards not including Zone 1 are no longer sold.

Services outside Greater London

There are various services outside Greater London on which Travelcards can be used. These are six Central Line stations in the Epping Forest district of Essex (and two on the boundary) that are included in zones 4, 5 and 6; seven Metropolitan Line stations in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire that are included in local ancillary zones 7, 8 and 9; three London Overground stations in Hertfordshire, included in local ancillary zones 7 and 8; and fourteen National Rail stations just outside Greater London that are included in zones 5 and 6. Additionally, on some London Buses services that cross the Greater London boundary, Travelcards are valid for the whole route. From outside Greater London, National Rail tickets can be purchased combining a day return ticket with a one day Travelcard. These include one return journey to and from the edge of the Travelcard area and standard Travelcard validity within the Travelcard Zones. Additionally, National Rail season tickets from outside Greater London can include Travelcard validity within London.