In message , at 14:21:07 on Mon, 5 Jun
2006, Dave Arquati remarked:
It is now possible to recover the £3 Oyster deposit and up to £5 credit
across the counter at ticket offices, rather than having to send off
for the money; this is specifically designed to encourage short-term
use of Oyster.

arghhh!

I queued for over ten minutes to purchase a ticket at Russell Square
last week. That's because I wanted a child ticket which the machines
don't sell (nor are there any signs saying the machines don't sell
them!!)

Almost everyone else in the queue was signing up for an Oyster Card;
loads of tourists. They were processing them reasonably fast (two
windows open) but obviously somewhat slower than just selling a paper
Travelcard.
--
Roland Perry