Call for TfL stations in Herts to be in 'zone six'

HERTFORDSHIRE County Council is to call for all Transport for London (TfL) Underground and overground stations in the county to be reclassified as ‘zone six’.

TfL divides the Greater London area into zones – with zone one being the most central – that are then used to calculate the cost of travel.

Currently Elstree and Borehamwood station is the only TfL station in Hertfordshire that is sited within ‘zone six’.

All other TfL stations are outside ‘zone six’. And that can mean higher fares for passengers travelling into London.

But now Hertfordshire County Council is calling for all TfL stations in the county to be rezoned and placed into ‘zone six’.

That would – say councillors – make journeys towards London from Hertfordshire stations cheaper.

And, they say, it would more accurately reflect their distance from central London.

On Tuesday (October 17) a meeting of the county council agreed to formally call for the change.

In making the case, Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst pointed to the relative distance of TfL stations in Hertfordshire and Essex.

And he highlighted stations in Epping Forest, in Essex, which he says is further from central London than some Hertfordshire stations – but still included in ‘zone six’.

“It is something that certainly those of us in the Watford area and Three Rivers have long campaigned for,” he said.

“The inequity whereby those in zone six in the Epping area are fine – those on this side of the county, ie the South West, are penalised – even though actually logistically and distance-wise the Epping areas that are on the Underground lines are much further distance out from central London.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, he said it was currently ‘unreasonable’ and ‘unfair’ – and that there were a ‘substantial’ number of people who were affected by this.

The Liberal Democrat amendment that the council would call for the change was accepted as part of a motion opposing plans to withdraw Day Travelcards.

And that motion was backed unanimously by the meeting of the county council on Tuesday (October 17).

In response, a Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson has since told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that there are no plans to make any changes.

“TfL has no plans to make changes to the zoning of any stations in the TfL network, and it would be a matter for the relevant train operating company and the Department for Transport should they wish to change the zoning of any of their stations,” he said.

“The Mayor is committed to keeping TfL fares as affordable as possible, while still ensuring TfL can continue to run clean, green and safe services, and meet the terms of TfL’s funding agreement with government.”