In message , at 10:16:36 on
Mon, 17 Dec 2012, Paul Corfield remarked:
There is no precedent that I can think of where the technical and
process data on a project that deals with financial and banking
security matters has been disclosed to the general public.

Published plans for ITSO rollout, while not perfect, tend to contain
more detail about how the process will roll out.

This is clearly an ambitious project, but they must have a plan (despite
the current lack of transparency making it look like they are making it
up as they go along, eg the way that the treatment of OnePulse cards has
only just emerged, and they don't yet mention whether pre-pay cards work
or not).

In your opinion Roland.

I really do hope they have a plan (they've been working on the project
five years now!)

And despite saying "everything"(sic) being done by the customer's bank,
there's no information about who to call (bank or TfL, and if the latter
the Oyster helpline or somewhere else) if you suspect a problem, nor any
detail about who will be running the online registration and statement
system.

You haven't looked very hard have you?

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...n_buses(1).pdf

Contact details are included on the above help sheet.

Further information is always welcome. As you say, that one had escaped
my attention.

Some of the work-arounds are risible:

"Your card requires a security PIN check" - "Make a chip and PIN
transaction at another retailer and try your card again on another bus
journey."

And it does indeed rely a lot on contacting your card issuer for advice.

Queries about the fares (rather than the card not working) are directed
at 0845 330 9876 which would seem to be the Oyster Helpline.

I am concerned that they are letting themselves down by this
half-hearted approach to telling the public what it's going to be like
when it's all finished.

There is no reason at all for TfL to tell the general public the end
state of how CBCs will be handled when the launch is many months away.
They did not say how Oyster PAYG would work 1 year before it launched.
I think you should just admit to being overly inquisitive about the
project.

As an early adopter of such things, it's always good to know whether you
are buying into (with one's time as much as money) something that has a
useful future rather than a dead end. I'd much rather know about the
"gotchas" in advance, rather than having to spend hours (and mean that
literally) on the phone to the Oyster helpline sorting things out after
the event.

Or even discussing here why TfL's idea of daily capping isn't quite the
same as anyone else's (it appears to be "trust us, and while there are a
few cases where you'll be charged too much, we hope you won't notice and
that it won't put you off using the system").

Like most such new schemes, the errors always seem to be in favour of
the supplier, and sorting them out afterwards a test of
who-gives-up-first.
--
Roland Perry