James Farrar wrote:
On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 03:08:03 GMT, David of Broadway
wrote:

Richard J. wrote:
Poldie wrote:
AndreaC wrote:
Also, can two people share one Oyster travelcard so that if I had a
zones 1-4, himself could use it on the days I'm not going to work
from his place if he didn't fancy cycling to work (which is what
he usually does)
Yes.
No. Pity you chose to contradict Paul C., who posted an hour before
you, without any explanation. To quote from page 3 of TfL's "Get the
most out of your Oyster card" leaflet: "If you have a Travelcard/Bus
Pass on your Oyster card it is for your use only so you cannot let
someone else use it." However, "You can let a friend or someone else,
use your card, if you only use Oyster to pay as you go."
Why is this the policy

In general, tube tickets (like those on the mainline railways) have
been non-transferable for a long time.

So it's a matter of tradition more than anything else?

Incidentally, do paper Travelcards have the same policy?

Yes.

Do I not violate this rule, then, by walking up to the ticket window and
purchasing two Travelcards, one for myself and one for a travel
companion? Why is the ticket agent even willing to sell more than one
Travelcard for the same period to a single person, when obviously that
individual will not be using more than one of them?

Or does the restriction only apply once the ticket has been used?

I was at
Edgware, trying unsuccessfully to persuade the ticket machine to accept
my credit card, when a random stranger handed me his day Travelcard.
(He did not ask for compensation.) Great, I thought, that solved my
problem. But the person at the gates, who happened to have witnessed
the transaction, would not let me through, insisting that the card
wasn't mine. Who was right?

The member of staff, I'm afraid.

Then it's good he stopped me, I suppose. (Incidentally, he had an
American accent, but he obviously wasn't a transplanted New York token
clerk, since he was quite polite about denying me entry.)

If the ticket office isn't open at all times that trains run, it would
be nice if the ticket machines were repaired so that they accept credit
cards without chip-and-PIN. I realize that all British credit cards
have chip-and-PIN, but not everybody who rides the Tube is British.
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA