"Dr Ivan D. Reid" typed


I posted a few weeks ago about my pre-pay Oyster being unreliable
on the local buses. In fact I've barely used it since so I haven't
pursued a replacement.

Today I fronted up to a U3 to bring my shopping back from
Uxbridge. After a good fraction of a second, the reader beeped and the
LED changed from orange to green. Just as well, because at the stop
outside RAF Uxbridge an inspector got on... He had a little hand-held
scanner (I'd mistaken it for a mobile phone at first glance) which didn't
want to scan my card, until he rotated it 180-degrees and then he finally
grunted an OK.

I've been wondering if advances in the usage of wireless
technology since Oyster was originally specified -- especially mobile,
bluetooth, and WiFi -- have led to higher interference rates than expected.
PC, any comment?

I had a mobile phone before I had an Oyster.

My Oyster became unreliable after a while and was replaced.

You are lucky in that I've never seen Uxbridge station ticket office
unstaffed. I was traipsing to Burnt Oak (usually unstaffed) and Edgware
(nobody in ticket office on a weekday at 3pm) to try and sort my Oyster
replacement.

Do not expect Oyster replacement to be quick and simple; just be
pleasantly surprised if it is...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.