In message , Bob Adams
writes
In message , Ben and Michiyo
writes
You should only swipe once for going in and once going out. If you can not
make sure you are only charged for one journey and if not ring the
oystercard helpline to be refunded.

Will somebody please explain to me how an Oyster card is an improvement
over a travel card _from a regular commuter passengers point of view_ ?

A travel card just works. No phoning

What phoning? You'll only need to phone if you have more than one
unresolved journey on your Oyster.

, no unnecessary swiping,

You still have to put a magnetic ticket through the gate at start and
finish or see someone to let you in/out if you have an extension ticket.

no
overcharging,

Oysters don't overcharge if used correctly (apart from a few anomalies
which are currently being sorted out.)

no stress.

Not true; the failure rate of magnetic tickets causes stress for
everyone.

Is an Oyster truly an improvement for anybody
else other than LUL? If not, why is everybody playing along with this
charade?

Oyster cards are much less susceptible to damage than magnetic tickets
which makes queues while someone tries over and over again to get their
ticket to open the gate less likely.
They are certainly much easier to use and it's impossible for the gates
to swallow them up, which again causes delays.
With added Pre Pay, you no longer have to queue at the ticket office to
buy an extension ticket for more than one zone; it's all done
automatically by the card and the reader.
The most important thing to remember is that the system will only work
efficiently and the way it was designed to if everyone validates their
card at both start and finish of the journey and keeps enough Pre Pay on
their Oyster to cover any out of zone journeys they might make.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.