In message , at 13:59:54 on Mon, 18 Jun 2012,
Mizter T remarked:

I thought they'd withdrawn the Visitor Oyster vending machines at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cards, and they'll have been withdrawn because regular Underground TVMs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.

I'm quite sure the vending machines at St Pancras (at the back of the
western ticket hall near the lift up to the ground level near the
"secret room" to the main concourse) were for Visitor Oysters.

"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

Can you buy one anywhere in the KX/STP complex?
--
Roland Perry

On 18/06/2012 14:17, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 13:59:54 on Mon, 18 Jun 2012,
Mizter T remarked:

I thought they'd withdrawn the Visitor Oyster vending machines at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cards, and they'll have been withdrawn because regular Underground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.

I'm quite sure the vending machines at St Pancras (at the back of the
western ticket hall near the lift up to the ground level near the
"secret room" to the main concourse) were for Visitor Oysters.

I'm fairly sure they weren't.

Here's a couple of photos of the type of (now defunct) vending machines
I was referring to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nipotan/4364105445/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicasaurusrex/428318342/


"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

Can you buy one anywhere in the KX/STP complex?

Don't think so - one would just get a regular Oyster card instead. I
don't think "Visitor Oyster cards" are sold *in* London, but there might
be a few places I guess.

In message , at 14:47:07 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Mizter T remarked:
I'm quite sure the vending machines at St Pancras (at the back of the
western ticket hall near the lift up to the ground level near the
"secret room" to the main concourse) were for Visitor Oysters.

I'm fairly sure they weren't.

Here's a couple of photos of the type of (now defunct) vending machines
I was referring to:

£3 machines issuing cards with no fare loaded.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nipotan/4364105445/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicasaurusrex/428318342/

I was thinking of the £5 cards (£3 fee plus £2 fare), but whether they
are branded "Visitor" ones or not (currently only available as £3 + £10
and above) is something we've crossed swords on before.
--
Roland Perry

On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:13:58 +0100, Mizter T
wrote:


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').

Yes, I tried to take advantage of that, but failed: I requested a fast
track check-in (ie, to jump the queue), based on my BA Silver
Executive Club card, but got nowhere.

On 18/06/2012 15:23, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 14:47:07 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Mizter T remarked:
I'm quite sure the vending machines at St Pancras (at the back of the
western ticket hall near the lift up to the ground level near the
"secret room" to the main concourse) were for Visitor Oysters.

I'm fairly sure they weren't.

Here's a couple of photos of the type of (now defunct) vending
machines I was referring to:

£3 machines issuing cards with no fare loaded.

The £3 is the deposit (back when the deposit was £3).


http://www.flickr.com/photos/nipotan/4364105445/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicasaurusrex/428318342/

I was thinking of the £5 cards (£3 fee plus £2 fare), [...]

As above, it wasn't a £3 fee as such but rather the £3 deposit.

[...] but whether they
are branded "Visitor" ones or not (currently only available as £3 + £10
and above) is something we've crossed swords on before.

They were not, I can assure you, I obtained one from one of said
machines in the past as did others I have been travelling with (on
different occasions).

Functionally Visitor Oysters are almost the same as a normal Oyster
card, except they can't be registered (so can't be used for seasons
longer than a week) and they can't be returned for a deposit. And they
carry Visitor Oyster card branding.

Mizter T wrote:

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

Except for those for whom it would be a decrease?

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

On 18/06/2012 07:06, Neil Williams wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:

Oyster fare is £3.20 (I assume on PAYG). £4.30 cash.

Frequent flyers pay £16 for 10 rides.

Great, yet another non integrated element in TfL's fare system.

Neil


I thought they said that they were going to integrate it.

So, seasonal ticket holders will not just be able to walk on?

On 18/06/2012 09:13, Paul Corfield wrote:
On 18 Jun 2012 06:06:35 GMT, Neil Williams
wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote:

Oyster fare is £3.20 (I assume on PAYG). £4.30 cash.

Frequent flyers pay £16 for 10 rides.

Great, yet another non integrated element in TfL's fare system.

Did you ever expect it to be on standard fares? It's always felt
like a premium service to me.

The Roosevelt Island Tramway is separate from New York City Transit in
that the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. operates it. Yet, it is
integrated into NYCT's fare system.

In message , at 15:50:45 on Mon, 18 Jun
2012, Mizter T remarked:
Here's a couple of photos of the type of (now defunct) vending
machines I was referring to:

£3 machines issuing cards with no fare loaded.

The £3 is the deposit (back when the deposit was £3).

Don't you have to register them to get the deposit back? How many people
will bother if they were in that much of a hurry they wanted to buy from
a vending machine?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nipotan/4364105445/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicasaurusrex/428318342/

I was thinking of the £5 cards (£3 fee plus £2 fare), [...]

As above, it wasn't a £3 fee as such but rather the £3 deposit.

But it *also* had the £2, so wasn't the same product as the plain £3
card.

[...] but whether they
are branded "Visitor" ones or not (currently only available as £3 + £10
and above) is something we've crossed swords on before.

They were not, I can assure you, I obtained one from one of said
machines in the past as did others I have been travelling with (on
different occasions).

The machines at St Pancras were definitely the £3 + £2 variety, as I
remember discussing what use the £2 was (and the consensus at the time
was it enough to get you to you r hotel (or wherever) and you then
topped up at what would probably be a much less congested station on
your 2nd trip.

Functionally Visitor Oysters are almost the same as a normal Oyster
card, except they can't be registered (so can't be used for seasons
longer than a week) and they can't be returned for a deposit. And they
carry Visitor Oyster card branding.

The only substantial dispute is whether the £3 + £2 cards were the
"Visitor" kind or not.

--
Roland Perry

In message , at 15:45:29 on
Mon, 18 Jun 2012, Recliner remarked:
The London Eye also went in for similar
stuff given its now-expired BA sponsorship (e.g. a ride was a 'flight').

Yes, I tried to take advantage of that, but failed: I requested a fast
track check-in (ie, to jump the queue), based on my BA Silver
Executive Club card, but got nowhere.

Did you get any points for the trip? Half an air mile, maybe.
--
Roland Perry