PAYG area extension enquiry in Southeast England on Rail & Tube services map.
Request ID: FOI-3512-2223 Date published: 12 April 2023
You asked
Hello there,
I was just analysing the latest Nov 2022 'London's Rail & Tube services map' the other day and found out that despite the map's name, there are some 74 National Rail stations on this map currently that fall outside the perimeters of the 32 London Boroughs & the City of London (excluding London Underground 'Tube' stations) that are shown on the map as part of the Oyster/ Pay-as-you-go/ Travelcard/ Fare zones but many of these were not present just a couple of years ago on the maps, and this is because in recent years, a lot of non-London stations have been included as part of London's Rail & Tube services maps as the contactless 'Pay-as-you-go' (PAYG) area has been expanded outside the boundaries of London and now, these stations appear either as part of:
• Zones 6-9
• 'Outside Fare Zones/ Special Fares Apply'
• 'Outside Fare Zones, Oyster not valid'
...and this expansion of the London's Rail map and the PAYG area is nowhere completed as this plan to expand the contactless pay-as-you-go area to more stations outside London in South East England has even been mentioned in the 2019 Conservative Party's manifesto who've won the elections - and says that nearly 200 more stations on the fringes of London will be added to this system. You can have a read of it on page 29 of their document here: https://www.conservatives.com/our-plan/conservative-party-manifesto-2019
Since then, there has also been a public consulatation by the Department for Transport (DfT) 4 years ago in Feb 2019 where they have concluded with some great maps that in the future, the PAYG region can be vastly expanded to places such as Stansted Airport, Southend Airport, and many more, and you can have a read of their findings here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/776998/payg-rail-consultation-doc.pdf
So based on all this, and considering that we're now in 2023, I just wanted to...
1) get an UPDATE on the progress of this.
2) get an idea of WHEN is the earliest that we could possibly see the next wave of expansion of the contactless pay-as-you-go area to more stations on the fringes of London amongst the areas that they've mentioned?
3) and WHICH of these areas/ stations could be the earliest to join the London's Rail & Tube services map in the near future?
I ask this because whilst a lot of stations have been added over the last decade, I don't think a single station has been added to the map network since the 2020s decade began 3 years ago (possibly due to covid pandemic?), so just wanted to know if this entire plan has been cancelled/ scrapped instead?
I have previously asked both National Rail and Network Rail about this, but they've both recommended me to speak to TfL instead as their primary roles are to help with fares/ travel and tracks/ infrastructure respectively, so decided to get in touch with you.
Many thanks, looking forward to hearing from you soon.
We answered
TfL Ref: 3512-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 27 March 2023 asking for an update in relation to the 'London's Rail & Tube services map' November 2022 edition and the expansion of contactless card usage beyond the current ticketing arrangement.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for:
1) get an UPDATE on the progress of this.
2) get an idea of WHEN is the earliest that we could possibly see the next wave of expansion of the contactless pay-as-you-go area to more stations on the fringes of London amongst the areas that they've mentioned?
3) and WHICH of these areas/stations could be the earliest to join the London's Rail & Tube services map in the near future?
The Department for Transport funded programme to expand Contactless pay as you go to additional stations outside London in the Southeast is underway, with expansion to 52 National Rail stations expected later this year.
The DfT have not yet announced specifically which stations these will be. As this a DfT programme being implemented on National Rail stations and services, with TfL the Service Provider of Contactless pay as you go, questions relating to the programme and its progress should be directed towards the DfT - rather than TfL.
Regarding the specific question on how the London Rail and Tube Services map may be updated to reflect this expansion of Contactless pay as you go, this is still under discussion between TfL and the Rail Development Group.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
