On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:40:06 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I could hardly believe, last week, when I tried to buy a One Day
Travelcard at my local newsgent, who had sold them for many years,
that they are no longer available there! The equipment, he told me, as
I could see, had been removed and all he can now do is add credit to
Oyster cards, or sell weekly etc. tickets on Oyster.

This is an outrageous scam by T.F.L., which means I now would now lose
£1 credit on my Oyster in order to get a bus to my local station which
is, presumably, the only place I can now buy a One Day Travelcard.
Does anyone know why one can't get a One Day Travelcard on Oyster?

It's funny that bus drivers don't even seem to know that this is now
the case, since my father when he tried bought a ticket on the bus one
morning was told by the driver that it would be cheaper for him to by
a One Day Bus Pass at the same newsagents!

It is not a scam and there's no need for the hyperbole.

TfL are switching over the ticket issuing equipment to one which deals
with Oyster but cannot print tickets. For those ticket products which
would ordinarily be printed TfL are now using pre-encoded ticket stock
which the agent has to date stamp. I would imagine the agent you used
has not understood whatever TfL / Transys have said to him. He should
have suitable ticket stock and equipment to issue the whole range of
tickets that are retailed from whatever type of "ticket stop" he is.
There may be a glitch in the handover arrangements but there is not some
"money grabbing" scam going on. TfL are doubling the number of agents
and to do this and put Oyster into all of them different technology to
the old Pass Agent Terminal is required.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!