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Old August 8th 17, 08:32 AM posted to uk.transport.london
Roland Perry Roland Perry is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Aug 2003
Posts: 10,125
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In message , at 19:00:35
on Mon, 7 Aug 2017, remarked:

I can't speak for The Key because, despite their trains taking and bringing
most of Cambridge's 11 million passengers annually, GTR don't allow The Key
to be used here.


Although it was in their list of post-franchise promises.

What was the point of a standard (ITSO) if different cards
can't use other TOCs' gatelines and other systems?


There's something very wrong with the way ITSO has been rolled out.

The interoperability is essentially zero - even between different bits
of Stagecoach for example (I have three of their cards - EMT, SWT and
"Cambus"). I've also got three different "The Keys", but haven't tested
their interoperability because basically I don't have anywhere I travel
where any of them would be accepted as a ticket[1].

The deadlock at Cambridge, however, must be Abellio's fault, because
they operate the station and are the ones presumably refusing to update
their gates to accept (and communicate back to GTR) The Key swipes.

[1] Although one day I must try them all at a GTR ticket machine and see
what it says. In another priceless bit of interoperability-NOT their
website claims such machines are only located *outside* the
Travelcard area. It's bonkers that this can't be done at Kings Cross
(apparently).
--
Roland Perry