In article , (Clive
Page) wrote:

In message , Paul
Corfield writes
Clive - if you can let me know which tube stations you tried I can
raise this with the relevant Revenue people at LU so they know there
are some issues re training and awareness. Given extension of PAYG to
NR in the New Year it is likely the volume of such transactions will
increase and it makes sense to deal with any inadequacies now.

Paul - thanks. I guess you are right about a greater number
wanting to do it in the new year. Except that the facility is so
well hidden, that probably nobody will try to use it.

My wife tried at Lambeth North some time in October - the ticket
clerk got my wife to fill in a form and experimented with his
machine for some time, then said it wasn't possible.

Then at City Thameslink (ok not a TfL station, but explicitly
listed on the TfL website as one where you can do this): on 25th
Nov around 17:30 the ticket clerk took a photocopy of the printout
from your website but could not work out how to do it. He said it
probably wasn't possible until January, but he would ask his
management for information.

She tried around the same time the following night, hoping to see
the same man, but he wasn't on duty, and the clerk claimed that it
simply wasn't possible at NR stations. A long queue was building
up behind her, so she didn't pursue it.

That's not a huge sample, of course. But a year ago we managed to
get the discount loaded, and though I don't remember the details,
it took attempts at several stations before we succeeded.


The other issue is that the ability to get a NR Railcard loaded at
all and that it gives you a lower daily cap is very well hidden on
the TfL websites, and I've never seen it described in printed
literature. I would never have known about it if it weren't for
this newsgroup.

I've just searched the TfL website again, the main leaflet is a
22-page document
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...s-zones1-6.pdf
which says at the foot of page 11: "holders of some National Railcards
can get discount off-peak daily price capping" but it doesn't say
which railcards, or how you get it. There are lots of fare tables
later in the leaflet, but none of them seem to be the relevant ones.

Fortunately, because of an earlier thread in this newsgroup, I was
able to read
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresa...ares/6769.aspx
but that URL does not seem to be linked from anywhere else on the
TfL site (and I've rooted around for some time). I wonder how
anyone who does not read this newsgroup is expected to find this
document.

I also thought that I saw somewhere that the reduced price cap does
not apply to travel on buses when using a NR railcard - not all
that unreasonable I guess. But I can't find this reference any
more, and I haven't the faintest idea how it would apply if you
were to use some combination of buses and trains during the day.

I found this at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/oysteronline/9261.aspx, the
first hit from a search on the TfL site for "railcard":

National Rail Railcard discounts
If you hold a National Rail Railcard, you can get an Oyster card and have
the Railcard discount entitlement added to it. If you then travel during
off-peak hours on Tube, DLR, London Overground and some National Rail
services, the Oyster daily price cap will be reduced by 34 per cent.

National Railcard price capping discounts do not apply if you only travel
by bus or tram. However, if you travel by bus or tram as well as Tube,
DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services, any bus or tram
journeys will count towards the daily price cap.

This discount is available to holders of the following National Rail
Railcards:

Disabled Persons
HM Forces
Senior
Young Persons

There is then a link to "Check current daily price cap for National Rail
Railcard discounts" at
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresa...ares/6769.aspx with
the full details, including a pricing table.

If you have a local tube station that is convenient then I'm sure we
can do something to ensure you get a successful transaction. If you
wish to reply off group then my E mail address works.

Thanks Paul, but living in Bedfordshire our usual first encounter
with the tube is St.Pancras, but the ticket offices there always
have such horrendous queues so I'd never bother. I guess we'll try
at random tube stations on future trips around London, whenever we
have half-an-hour to spare :-). (By the way, my email address at
page2.eu also works).

As someone who also faces the unbelievable queues at Kings Cross St
Pancras my practice is to deal with my Oyster needs at my first
destination tube station (usually Westminster or St James's Park but
sometimes East Putney). Seems to work for PAYG top up getting change for
cash avoiding queues but I've not yet tried to load my Senior Railcard.
Must try doing so on Monday.

--
Colin Rosenstiel