"Tim B" wrote:
Saw a number of people unsuccessfully trying to use the roadside
ticket vending machine in Paddington on Satruday afternoon - all
seemed to be out of order and bus drivers not being very helpful.

Was the machine definitely out of order? I ask because over the past few
years I've come across people struggling with said machines a bit, and on
going to give them a hand have found that the machine was in full working
order, but they were doing something 'wrong' (in inverted commas because
there's something about them that people do seem to find fiddly).


Are these machines actually any use any more?

They're most certainly of use in the central London 'pay before you board'
area - or on bendy bus routes (albeit not for much longer) - when someone
doesn't have a ticket and needs one before they board the bus.

I haven't noticed a particular epidemic of the roadside ticket machines
being out of order of late - I'll endeavour to keep my eyes open in coming
weeks...