On 25/02/2012 16:28, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:51:36 on Sat, 25
Feb 2012, Graham Nye remarked:
... And don't get me started on queues for
train ticket machines! (The one here in the foreground is for the
subsurface lines at St Pancras, in the background is the scrum/queue for
the windows): http://www.perry.co.uk/images/stp-western-queue.jpg

Looks familiar.

That was taken soon after it opened (a few years ago). Silly me, I
thought a new ticket hall, lots of new machines and windows, would
reduce the legendary queues experienced at the old Kings Cross tube
ticket hall. The photo expresses my disappointment.

The best part is that few will actually know how to use/operate the
machines. Many of them will just sit there in a long pause, wondering
what buttones to first press. Some of them might even turn around ask
the people behind them if they have any idea what to do.

The worst part is that I don't consider myself to be tech-savvy, so the
big block letters on the screen do help.

I was always happy to see the introduction of TVMs, because it would
mean that I would get to bypass the queues as well as surly staff and
quickly get myself a ticket while the other sheep waited in a queue.

Alas, I fear that those days are quickly coming to pass.