In article ,
(Mark Bestley) wrote:

wrote:

In article ,
(Mark Bestley) wrote:

Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 20:02:59 on Sun, 16 Sep
2012, Phil remarked:
through her purse looking for an Oystercard, and then starts
yelling at the driver when he says that he needs to drive off.

And when finally paid up, she carefully took every item individually
off the bagging area and placed it in her rucksack. Which took
another several minutes.

Well if you have a rucksack you have to do that or else call the
helper for everyother item as it does not register as the sensor does
not really hold a rucksack.

Or use another supermarket. It seems only to be Sainsbury's that have
perpetual "unexpected item in bagging area" messages.

No I used Tesco's several times before giving up, I agree Sainsbury's
fail as well

My local main Tesco's seems less problematic. Sainsbury's is at least once
every time.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 2012-09-17 10:08:14 +0000, Paul Corfield said:

interesting stuff snipped


Well yes but the lack of steps and the ability to lower the bus to
kerb level do help somewhat. Low floor buses aren't perfect but step
entrance buses do feel "odd" if you're used to just using low floor
buses. I travelled on an old RF last week [1] and it was like climbing
a mountain to get inside ;-)

Before I got to the end of the paragraph I thought that the most
extreme step entrance bus I know is the RF.

[1] special working on the 210.

I'd have liked to travel on that. I used to hate it though when a green
Line RF turned up instead of an RMC. No legroom!

wrote:

My local main Tesco's seems less problematic. Sainsbury's is at least once
every time.

I suspect differences in how much tolerance there is on the scales (they
work by weighing the goods to ensure you don't forget / sneak something
in).

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

On 17/09/2012 09:27, Neil Williams wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:

At the supermarket self-checkout yesterday I observed someone paying in
coins, one at a time, looking at the display in between each one to see
how much more was required. She was putting in over a fiver in small
coins! Even if you over-pay, they return the balance to you as change.

More modern ones have a hopper you can just pour coins in. It's how I get
rid of my change jar contents these days - do a big shop at Tesco, lob them
all in, then pay the balance by credit card.

Neil


I noticed that the self-serve tills don't dispense 50-pence coins at
supermarkets. Is that because of their size and their shape?

In article ,
Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:

At all of Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons I've regularly placed my own
backpack in the bagging area. Once the supervisor flicks a switch it's
perfectly okay to load up the bag directly without having to verify every
single item. Maybe some other supermarkets use less flexible equipment?

The first question Tesco ask you is "Have you brought your own bag", at
which point you can put it on the bagging area and it re-calibrates the
weighing scales.

I must admit to not having noticed that - I thought the question came up
just before payment and was linked to green incentives. But my local Tesco
often has the sound turned off and I just use the machines on autopilot.

You mean those things can be silenced ? Pass me my sonic screwdiver ...

Nick (never uses them except in ikea which are mercifully voiceless !)
--
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996

On 16/09/2012 23:56, Neil Williams wrote:
Ken Wheatley wrote:

I remember when many London buses had a ticket machine inside the
right-hand leaf of the entrance door, so those with the right money could
bypass the queue for the driver. The really slow ones were the worst at
having a go at 'queue jumpers".

It would to me make sense to have an Oyster pad there. Hamburg is slightly
similar - driver side leaf for paying cash, other side for getting past
while people pay cash (you don't have to show your ticket). It is
extremely efficient, and as London has disabled access at the rear door the
centre rail could be reinstated to help "marshall" it.

Neil


I have wondered if they would install automatic fare counters on busses,
rather than having the driver count them.

A passenger would simply the deposit coins into a chute, after which a
ticket would be issued.

The counter would be mounted on the interior of the driver's door and
the receptacle would be where passengers now place their coins when
paying for a single fare.

Exact fare only -- no change, no banknotes. Just think of how much extra
revenue would come in from people overpaying their fares.

Or would it just be too much cost in time, labour and maintenance when
so few people pay for single fares?

On 17/09/2012 09:21, Paul Corfield wrote:
On 16 Sep 2012 22:56:17 GMT, Neil Williams
wrote:

Ken Wheatley wrote:

I remember when many London buses had a ticket machine inside the
right-hand leaf of the entrance door, so those with the right money could
bypass the queue for the driver. The really slow ones were the worst at
having a go at 'queue jumpers".

It would to me make sense to have an Oyster pad there. Hamburg is slightly
similar - driver side leaf for paying cash, other side for getting past
while people pay cash (you don't have to show your ticket). It is
extremely efficient, and as London has disabled access at the rear door the
centre rail could be reinstated to help "marshall" it.

Colin has beaten me to it but reinstating the centre rail would simply
cause congestion and make it very awkward for people with shopping or
buggies or who value not being herded like sheep.

London has never been able to make multi stream boarding work properly
- what happens when someone's Oyster card bleeps and they're in the
"non driver" lane. Answer - they either dodge their fare or the job
stops while they back track and queue to see the driver.


Some places in the world have turnstiles on their surface transport.

Would that ever happen in the UK?

On 17/09/2012 19:10, Arthur Figgis wrote:
On 17/09/2012 18:05, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 16:46:37 on Mon, 17
Sep 2012, Tim Roll-Pickering remarked:

At all of Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons I've regularly placed my own
backpack in the bagging area. Once the supervisor flicks a switch it's
perfectly okay to load up the bag directly without having to verify
every
single item. Maybe some other supermarkets use less flexible equipment?

The first question Tesco ask you is "Have you brought your own bag", at
which point you can put it on the bagging area and it re-calibrates the
weighing scales.

The machines at my local Sainsbury's don't seem to get on with rucksacks
whenever I've tried that. They can cope with normal cloth shopping bags
of the sort I seem to acquire at conferences.

Perhaps because a rucksack might not properly distribute the weight when
placed on the sensor, whereas it's easier with a cloth shopping bag?

On 17/09/2012 19:58, Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:

At all of Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons I've regularly placed my own
backpack in the bagging area. Once the supervisor flicks a switch it's
perfectly okay to load up the bag directly without having to verify every
single item. Maybe some other supermarkets use less flexible equipment?

The first question Tesco ask you is "Have you brought your own bag", at
which point you can put it on the bagging area and it re-calibrates the
weighing scales.

I must admit to not having noticed that - I thought the question came up
just before payment and was linked to green incentives. But my local Tesco
often has the sound turned off and I just use the machines on autopilot.


Isn't there an option where you can tell the computer that you brought
your own bag, though?

In article ,
lid (Arthur Figgis) wrote:

On 17/09/2012 18:05, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 16:46:37 on Mon, 17
Sep 2012, Tim Roll-Pickering remarked:

At all of Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons I've regularly placed my own
backpack in the bagging area. Once the supervisor flicks a switch it's
perfectly okay to load up the bag directly without having to verify
every single item. Maybe some other supermarkets use less flexible
equipment?

The first question Tesco ask you is "Have you brought your own bag", at
which point you can put it on the bagging area and it re-calibrates the
weighing scales.

The machines at my local Sainsbury's don't seem to get on with
rucksacks whenever I've tried that. They can cope with normal cloth
shopping bags of the sort I seem to acquire at conferences.

YMMV. I have perennial problems with them.

--
Colin Rosenstiel