Michael Hoffman wrote:

Uncle Dave wrote:

I'm just about ready to give up with this. I missed the DLR at London
City the first time I used it because the machine was hidden away in
an alcove in the entrance rather than on the platform. OK, fifteen
minutes isn't that big a deal but it rankles when you haven't been
home for three weeks. At Waterloo the thing was even better hidden so
I had to go the wrong way down an exit in order to seek it out.


It's at the gateline. How did you get in/out without using it?


If the OP means London City Airport and the DLR station there, it is not
gated. There is a red line painted where the "fares paid area" begins
(just like other DLR stations). The Oyster readers are placed where you
cross this line, opposit to the ticket windows. On most DLR stations I
have no problem with this but at City Airport station I have a few times
found myself standing on the platform and have forgot to touch in my
Oyster card and therefore have to carry myself and my bags etc down the
escalators again just to touch in the card.

I don't know why it happens for me just there and nowhere else on the
DLR system though.

Generally speaking, I think the fares system in London is complicated to
understand in many ways but not difficult to use. What I mean is that it
could be tough sometimes to find out exactly which fares applies to a
specific route, especially if it includes different modes of transport
etc, but once you have worked that out I don't think the tickets or
Oyster cards themselves are that complicated to get or use.

On some stations there are now machines where you can get an empty
Oyster card and add money to it at the adjacent ticket machine. There
could be more of those machines of course, but it is generally getting
better.

--
Olof Lagerkvist
ICQ: 724451
Web: http://here.is/olof