Back To Zone 1

Published on 25 October 2005 in , , , , , , , ,

And so all good things must come to an end. And by that, I mean a real end.

Yes, I’ve put Zone 1 back on my Travelcard.

You may recall a post a fortnight ago where instead of getting off the tube at Balham, changing onto an overcrowded overground train, changing again onto another at Clapham and walking from Olympia, I just stayed on the tube all the way to work (well bar the changing tubes) and got into work ten minutes early. Plus read more of my book too!

Since then I’ve been flirting a little with the tube – paying for the zone 1 travel with my Oyster pre-pay a couple of times a week, and it’s always been a better journey.

Of course once all the hassle and changing at Clapham Junction was worth it – the trains were quieter, you were overground – but ever since the bombs, its just been overcrowded hell, and the West London Line reliability hasn’t been great either. With just three trains an hour (two of which come within minutes of each other), when things go wrong, it ain’t fun.

Well not for me any more. From tomorrow, I will have zone 1 on my travelcard. It’s a bit messy – what I actually have on my Oystercard is my old Zones 2-3 Annual Travelcard and a six month zone 1 card. Apparently this would be cheaper and easier getting a refund on my old travelcard, and replacing it with a new one – mainly because of the admin fee they charge. Still it was nearly four hundred quid for six months, but hey, if it means I can read more books, its worth it.

(Just watch tomorrow being a day where all the tubes are completely screwed…)