"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...

But are the programmers clever enough to implement it properly?

actually I think they are. I remember the huge debates we had about how
things would work and the clever questions and scenarios that were put
forward to ensure that we'd covered every eventuality. Oh and I met the
person doing the testing the other morning and he said the Kings Cross
situation worked OK :-)

Yes, out of station interchanges work okay.


I know there is a huge amount of cynicism about pre-pay and the non
appearance of some functionality at this time. The point people seem to
forget is that the fare system is very complex because it has developed
over a long period of time. To suggest a complete overhaul in one go (as
some have done) would be madness as you risk creating chaos and mass
confusion. You are also likely to disadvantage people and they will be
upset by that. Finally some aspects of the system are "fixed" in that
they are enshrined in LUL / TOC agreements that are not easy to change.

The new fare structure, different prices depending if you have an Oyster
pre-pay or not, different prices for weekends is coming close to the "super
saver valid only on the third thursday of every other month" scenario! There
were plans for the fare structure to be simplified too.

While I do understand why people are disappointed I would much prefer a
situation whereby the system is implemented incrementally in a way the
travelling public and staff can follow. There is nothing worse than
making a change that involves people's money and finding it doesn't
quite work - as an organisation you will be vilified in the press and
face a barrage of (legitimate) complaints. LUL hardly needs any more
public vilification now does it?

But the incremental implementation is causing more confusion! I suggest you
read traffic circular 48 onwards, where Oyster related items are being
changed weekly! Consider the effect that the information in the staff
"briefings"are changing all the time has. We're supposed to be able to
answer customers' queries straight away, without having to wade through
several issues looking for the latest update. I'm very concerned that there
hasn't been enough "awareness campaigns" done to ensure those who would like
to use pre-pay are fully aware that they need to touch the card on a reader
when exiting and the lack of fare-capping will result with people being
charged too much. Perhaps we're looking at this from different viewpoints
though.