Pay As You Go in Southeast England

Extension of Pay As You Go in Southeast England

As part of a £20m investment by the Department for Transport (DfT), it has been announced that 53 stations in the south-east of England are being equipped with new Pay As You Go (PAYG) technology. These include 14 stations operated by London Northwestern Railway.

The new technology will allow passengers to pay for their travel using a contactless bank card or contactless-enabled mobile device, rather than purchasing tickets in advance.

The project is in two phases. In July 2023 the Department for Transport announced the 53 stations which will be included in Phase 1 .

The following London Northwestern Railway stations are in Phase 1:

  • Apsley
  • Berkhamsted
  • Bletchley
  • Bricket Wood
  • Cheddington
  • Garston
  • Hemel Hempstead
  • How Wood
  • Kings Langley
  • Leighton Buzzard
  • Park Street
  • St Albans Abbey
  • Tring
  • Watford North

The introduction of the new technology will also mean some changes to fares to/from some destinations to enable single-leg pricing to be introduced. Super Off-Peak fares will no longer be available on some routes, while other fares will decrease or increase slightly.

Fare changes from 3 December 2023

In preparation for the rollout of PAYG, some fares to/from the 14 stations listed above are changing from Sunday 3 December 2023.

The main changes include:

  • Anytime Day Singles to/from London will reduce in price to 50% of the Return fare
  • Super Off-Peak Day Return fares to/from London will be withdrawn - Off-Peak fares have been reduced in price to offset this change
  • Evening peak restrictions will come into effect on some routes to align with Transport for London (TfL) systems

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Existing ticket-purchasing methods will remain available alongside the new technology.

No. Contactless Pay As You Go technology is separate from the Oyster Zone .

Contactless card readers are being installed at stations which do not already have ticket barriers. Where stations already have ticket barriers, they will be upgraded.

Passengers using pay as you go (PAYG) must ‘tap in’ at their entry station by holding their contactless bank card or contactless-enabled mobile device against the card reader. Passengers must then ‘tap out’ using the same device at their destination station.

No. Passengers using PAYG (pay as you go) will be charged the full adult fare.

No. Each card/device can only be used once per journey.

To simplify fares, we are changing existing Peak/Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares. This means having one Peak and one Off-Peak price, with some fares changing and others being removed. This may mean some passengers pay more, but some passengers will see a reduction in their price and others will have greater flexibility in when they are able to travel.

We will be harmonising evening peak restrictions with the existing TfL times of 6.30-9.30am and 4-7pm. If eligible, your fare will be capped based on when you first touch in. This means:

  • If you tap in before 9.30am, you will be charged an Anytime Day Cap for your journey.
  • If you tap in after 9.30am, you be charged an Off-Peak fare, even during the afternoon and evening peak.

Daily and weekly capping will be available for all passengers using pay as you go (PAYG).

  • The daily cap places a limit on how much you can be charged in a single day, depending on your origin station.
  • The weekly cap limits how much you pay for your journeys in a fixed Monday to Sunday period, depending on your origin and destination station. With PAYG, you only pay for days on which you travel, which in some weeks might turn out to be less than you intend. Weekly capping will be available for passengers who travel regularly into the London travel zones.

You will be able to calculate the cost of your journey before travelling by using the TfL (Transport for London ) single fare finder. You can also create a contactless account using the TfL website, where you can check your PAYG journeys and their costs.

The correct fare will be calculated at the end of the day and charged from the payment method. This will consider any cap you may be entitled to and ensure you get charged the best price for travel for that day.

Yes. You must tap in / tap out, or you may be charged a Penalty Fare.

You must tap out after completing your journey, or you will be charged an incomplete journey fare.

Yes, you can claim Delay Repay in the same way by choosing 'Other Contactless' as a ticket format when prompted. Please note:

• You must accompany your claim with a copy of your TfL/Contactless statement showing where you touched in and out and the cost of your journey.
• To view your contactless journey statements, you’ll need to create a TfL contactless or Oyster account .