On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:26:24 +0100
"Robin" wrote:
Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge
for cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

For only some values of reasonable as there is also the explanation that
TfL wished to maintain the general message that travel is cheaper with
an Oyster Card.

You talk as if TfL are some good samaritan magnanimously informing us about
something they have no control over. As opposed to a corporation that has
no qualms about ripping people off simply so that ultimately they won't
have to accept cash payments at all, can dispense with ticket office staff
and won't have to pay securicor or whoever to collect the cash at the end of
the day.

B2003

In message , at 11:26:24 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Robin remarked:
Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge
for cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

For only some values of reasonable as there is also the explanation that
TfL wished to maintain the general message that travel is cheaper with
an Oyster Card.

But this travel isn't the normal "always touch in" kind of Oyster, it's
one of those rare "Oyster PAYG electronic money paying for a third-ish
party service".
--
Roland Perry

On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:22:18 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 11:26:24 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Robin remarked:
Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge
for cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

For only some values of reasonable as there is also the explanation that
TfL wished to maintain the general message that travel is cheaper with
an Oyster Card.

But this travel isn't the normal "always touch in" kind of Oyster, it's
one of those rare "Oyster PAYG electronic money paying for a third-ish
party service".

In what sense is it a third-party service? Emirates are sponsoring
the branding, but are they at all involved in running it?

On 18/06/2012 11:41, Neil Williams wrote:

Mizter wrote:

'We' don't have the money to do it, for a start.

Nonsense. Fares can be changed up and down as appropriate. The current
system favours those who are already favoured by having a direct train or
bus only service for their journey. That is unfair.

Be our guest and try selling a significant fare increase to Londoners
right now and see how far that gets you.

Bear in mind that fares have gone up a fair bit in recent years, and the
current Mayor's policy is that more of the burden of public transport
costs should fall directly on users in the form of fares rather than
indirectly in the form of council tax.

(Though matters are seemingly a bit different when it comes to financing
jolly fair ground rides, er sorry absolutely essential pieces of
transport infrastructure such as the cable car...)

On 18/06/2012 11:00, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 09:55:59 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Robin remarked:
Is it included on a Travelcard?

TfL aren't that daft. But Travelcard and Freedom Pass holders will be
able to buy a pass at the Oyster PAYG rate rather than the cash rate
according to the myriad press reports.

Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge for
cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

So what? Also, FWIW, TfL heavily go in for promoting and selling Oyster
cards to tourists (Visitor Oyster cards etc), so many won't pay this
'surcharge'.

In message , at 12:59:39 on
Mon, 18 Jun 2012, Recliner remarked:
But this travel isn't the normal "always touch in" kind of Oyster, it's
one of those rare "Oyster PAYG electronic money paying for a third-ish
party service".

In what sense is it a third-party service? Emirates are sponsoring
the branding, but are they at all involved in running it?

Apparently it has ticket machines called "Boarding Pass machines", and
isn't within either the classic Travelcard ambit nor Oyster capping.
Hence it's "ish" a third party (a bit like the London Transport museum
was when they used to accept Oyster money for entrance).
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 13:03:44 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Mizter T remarked:
Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge for
cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

So what?

A spade's a spade.

Also, FWIW, TfL heavily go in for promoting and selling Oyster cards
to tourists (Visitor Oyster cards etc), so many won't pay this
'surcharge'.

I thought they'd withdrawn the Visitor Oyster vending machines at
relevant major London stations (like St Pancras). Or is that just
a wild rumour.
--
Roland Perry

On 18/06/2012 13:25, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 13:03:44 on
Mon, 18 Jun 2012, Mizter T remarked:
Thus confirming beyond any reasonable doubt that the £1.10 surcharge
for cash is in fact a "tourist tax".

So what?

A spade's a spade.

Not really, it's a 'don't-have-an-Oyster-tax' if you insist on calling
it something...


Also, FWIW, TfL heavily go in for promoting and selling Oyster cards
to tourists (Visitor Oyster cards etc), so many won't pay this
'surcharge'.

I thought they'd withdrawn the Visitor Oyster vending machines at
relevant major London stations (like St Pancras). Or is that just
a wild rumour.

They were basic vending machines that dispensed plain-vanilla Oyster
cards, and they'll have been withdrawn because regular Underground TVMs
have been modified to dispense Oyster cards now.

"Visitor Oyster cards" are slightly different in that they are sold as
opposed to being issued in exchange for a deposit (as is the case for
plain-vanilla Oyster cards), and as such can be sold by third parties -
e.g. from National Express ticket offices, from Stansted Express at
Stansted and Gatwick Express at Gatwick (also possibly onboard said
trains?), from the Greenline counter at Luton airport, from Oxford Tube
ticket sellers in Oxford, and all sorts of other places and retailers
(e.g. travel agents/operators such as SuperBreak).

They can also be bought online for postal delivery from TfL's 'visitor
shop'...
http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/

....and also from Visit Britain...
http://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/travel-transport/london-transport/product/london-visitor-oyster-card.html

All of TfL's blurb aimed at tourists visiting London pushes the use of
Oyster cards. This is different from say Paris, where RATP pushes the
pricey "Paris Visite" pass to tourists (as opposed to Mobilis one day
passes and Navigo season tickets).

On 18/06/2012 09:36, Roland Perry wrote:

Oyster fare is £3.20 (I assume on PAYG).

Does it form a component of daily capping?

For the record, no - from the footnotes of this press release:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/24269.aspx

"Emirates Air Line fares will not be included in the Oyster daily capping."

(Superfluous definitive article in that sentence, but wotever.)

On 18/06/2012 11:37, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 11:25:18 on
Mon, 18 Jun 2012, Paul Corfield remarked:

I hope the ticket machines have got a lot of 70p's in them, for change.

Come now - get with the jargon. "Boarding Pass" machines.

The project seems riddled with faux-airline terminology. I suppose they
think the pun is amusing. Although to me an "air line" is one of those
machines at the garage that inflates tyres - or perhaps my mid-Atlantic
vocabulary is getting in the way.

It's just sponsorship, innit. The London Eye also went in for similar
stuff given its now-expired BA sponsorship (e.g. a ride was a 'flight').