London Banter - View Single Post - Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off

[email protected] · April 23rd 14, 12:36 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:11:24 -0500,
wrote:

As you know because I told the tale here of my wife losing something like
£10 because she was unaware of incomplete journeys because she didn't use
the Oyster card again until a year later. The evidence was clear enough
on the card's journey record but they just said "tough we're keeping your
money".

All I can say to that is there should have been a refund of monies due
given the evidence on the card. If it had been me I'd have pushed it
as far as I could with TfL and then referred it to London Travelwatch
if TfL were not playing ball. Beyond that it would be the Assembly
Transport Committee given they're very hot on Oyster charging woes.

I did a pretty well all of that, given that by then I wasn't in London very
often and we found out when my mother was dying so I had other things to do.
I know two people in London Travelwatch (one used to work for Cambridge City
Council) but they couldn't do much, it seems.

Also, how do you keep an eye on your charges if you use the older gates
that reveal no useful information?

Well if I miss a deduction at an old gate I will check my journey
history on a ticket machine straight away. I also keep a close eye on
my Oyster account and look to see what has been charged.

One has to, doesn't one? The problem is not being as aware of the system as
my wife isn't.

Finally in a piece of extreme data recording I maintain a spreadsheet
of every journey made with my Oyster card. This is so I can track if I
use the card sufficiently to exceed the price I paid. I also track how
much I pay out in extension journeys and top ups in assessing the
overall value for money. I've done this for 3 years so I can tell
where I went and on what mode on any given day. As I say all a bit
"anal" but it's been very helpful to be able to compare a Travelcard
against fares I would have paid against daily caps. I'm not advocating
anyone else should do this - I just find it helpful for my own
understanding.

Worth it for you, I'm sure. If I lived in London I might well do the same.
But not for an Oyster card that isn't used from one year to the next.

Occasional tube users from outside London have no option but to use
Oyster or pay though the nose.

Not strictly true given Visitor Travelcards are issued on paper as are
day travelcards. Travelcards from many NR stations are also issued on
paper. OK you have to be reasonably confident about the extent of
your travel to make that commitment of money. Occasional users do
have to buy into Oyster but will soon have the bank card option if
that is convenient for them.

That depends heavily on your TOC. FCC and GA charge rather more than many
for Day Travelcards as opposed to Day Returns. There is an eclectic range of
exceptions, with the cheapest and most expensive DRs. Bog standard
Any-Permissible CDRs charge so much that Oyster use would have to approach
the cap for most people (who stick to Zones 1 & 2).

--
Colin Rosenstiel