Boltar wrote:
Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(eastender) wrote:
What nonsense. Many other world cities have travelcard systems -
why wouldn't someone check out London's? And you don't need to
Why would you? I don't know any other city metro that penalises people
for buying a normal ticket. If you know otherwise then please tell us
where.
I can't immediately think of where it was, but I've recently* been
somewhere where it costs more to buy a tram/bus/etc ticket from the
driver than from a kiosk in advance. Admittedly it isn't as dramatic a
difference as the card/cash prices in London, but fare differentials do
exist.
Conversely, in Manila they charge a 2% processing fee for using the
smart card!
(*)so I'd guess Sofia, somewhere in Italy, Innsbruck or Berlin.
'read up' on them - you can just go to a ticket office or machine
and buy one in most cities I've been to.
How many cities have you been too? Can you speak every language in the
world? Try going to the eastern block and asking the babushka at the
ticket office about the fares in english and see what sort of response
you get.
In my experience, as long as you want a bog-standard single ticket,
you'll get a ticket. Often as not there is a fare table on display, so
you can spot a likely-looking product (and ignore the "pregnant war
veterans with dogs and three children travelling on the day after a
public holiday" discounts).
The trickier bit can be working out where zone boundaries are, and
trying to establish if a "Travelcard"-type product is valid 00:01-23:59,
"off peak", or for 24h after issue (or first use).
If you get really stuck, just look for someone under 30 who will
enthusiastically translate as an opportunity to practice their English.
Or, if you know any German, in some places you might have some success
if you find an older person and try speaking German (having first made
clear that you aren't German, it is purely an attempt to find a common
language, and they bombed your granny's house as well, &c &c)
Precisely. Just regard cash fares as a tax on the ignorant, as in almost
every city in the world.
Should be a tax you 2 should be paying then.
B2003
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK