Ian Tindale typed


Oyster is a total waste of time and money.

I disagree. It *can* save you money (especially on weekend Tube fares)
but you *really* have to know what your travelling pattern is likely to
be are work out the fares first.

I sent mine back long ago and got
my £3 back eventually*. What's the point of Oyster when you can't top up
online the same day

That's a nuisance but you can either:
always keep some credit on your card or
top up at a sweet shop (aka Ticket Point) near your home.

- you have to spend money to get to a station that has
a ticket desk; you can't see your usage online, you have to spend money to
go somewhere that has a ticket desk; you can't use off-peak 1-4 or 2-6 one
day travelcards (which account for pretty much all my usage), instead,
ending up getting a paper ticket.

Much of my Tube usage is also with this sort of (paper) Travelcard. I
try to purchase them in advance. I have a Bus Pass anyway. Oyster is
often cheaper than a Travelcard at weekends though.

*and that's another thing - why was I penalised £3 just to carry
around this
useless card for a while? Why not take a leaf out of the cellular industry
and include a few pounds of pre-pay on the card for the "fee", as you'd get
if you bought a sim?

Wot, like £1 calling credit on a £29.99 sim from Orange????

Typical of a money-grabbing transport system with an
unrealistically overpriced fat-cat fare structure. This is why there's no
industry or jobs in London any more - every time one goes out of the house
it costs a flaming fortune.

It's not too bad if you know how to play the system...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.