Actually, I'd say the TfL machines are quite a bit more friendly than
the National Rail ones even. Obviously they don't deal with various
destinations but simple zones.

You see, chocolate machines usually just list half-a-dozen or so
different types of chocolate bars, clearly marked, each one with its own
button. *You press the button to choose the type of bar you want. *Nice
and simple.

Often there are just number buttons and no button per item.

Sadly, they've phased out the ticket vending machines that have
different buttons for each destination, and replaced them with those
awful new ones with touch screens. *Not that it's obvious that they're
touch screens. *The very first time you use one, you're looking you
waste a lot of time looking for some mouse-style thing to control it!
Once you've finally figured out what's going on, then the nightmare can
really begin.

Ehm, seeing as there is no mouse or separate keyboard, what other
option could be there? Surely it can't take that long to figure this
out.

The ticket you want is _never_ on the quick list on the first screen.

It very often is. They do put the most popular destinations and
travelcards on there after all.

You select the "More destinations" button icon. *It's usually not on the
second screen either. *You select "Station finder A-Z". *A keyboard pops
up on screen, but it's the wrong size, shape and angle for touch
typists. *Pecking at each letter in turn, you type out the name of your
destination.

No touch screen screens are made for touch typing. It's really not
that hard to type the letters one by one.

As you type, the list of stations above it gets whittled down until
there's only one left matching what you typed.

I guess you keep typing for too long and waste a lot of time like
that, then. Once it's narrowed down enough and you can see your
destination within the results, just select it. Don't keep typing.
*You then have to select
that one. *Why!?! If it's the only one matching, it's obviously the
only one you could want. Why do they make you do extra work by

Because you might have made a mistake and this way you can check
whether it's the right one. Or quickly use backspace and correct it.

Anyway, once that's done, you're presented with a list of ticket types
and routes, that can be _very_ confusing if you don't know exactly what
you want. *For example, on Sundays it still offers a ticket from Gipsy
Hill to Belvedere, route Not London, despite the fact that there doesn't
seem to be any obvious way of doing that journey with the Sunday
services!

Routing can be very confusing and a big problem, I agree with you
about that. Anyway, this isn't a problem on LU machines due to the
zones.

The machine makes no attempt to suggest which ticket is
likely to be best or most appropriate for your journey, the way a human
clerk should.

Well, if you look at the timetables before you leave or at the
station, you'd easily find out.

Better still, shoot all the machines and replace them with more human
clerks. That would be a big improvement.

An incredibly costly one leading to prices to rise.

It's _much_ quicker and less complex to ust say "Return, Belvedere,
please," than all that messing about with the touch screens.

Except that you'd have to wait in a queue for a long time, and you're
ignoring all the routing stuff that you just mentioned, which would
also be a problem if you were talking to a clerk. they don't know
every single route throughout the UK either.