The Evening Standard are today reporting a bug with the Oyster card, but
they don't say what the bug is. Can anyone shed any light on this?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ing%20Standard

"Nicholas F Hodder" wrote the following in:


The Evening Standard are today reporting a bug with the Oyster
card, but they don't say what the bug is. Can anyone shed any
light on this?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ource=Evening%
20Standard

"Announcements are being made at stations telling passengers how to use
the cards in an effort to try to make them work."

That suggests to me it's probably something to do with pre-pay
deducting the maximum fare if passengers don't "touch the card on the
yellow readers at the start and end of your journey". I know that's not
a bug, that's just people using it incorrectly, but I am taking into
account the usual level of Evening Standard inaccuracy.

--
message by Robin May, succeeding at failure.
Enjoy the Routemaster while you still can.

Crime is confusing.

"Robin May" wrote in message
.4...

"Announcements are being made at stations telling passengers how to use
the cards in an effort to try to make them work."

That suggests to me it's probably something to do with pre-pay
deducting the maximum fare if passengers don't "touch the card on the
yellow readers at the start and end of your journey". I know that's not
a bug, that's just people using it incorrectly, but I am taking into
account the usual level of Evening Standard inaccuracy.

I thought so too when I read "Announcements are being made at stations
telling passengers how to use the cards in an effort to try to make them
work" but then I read "Prestige, the firm that runs the Oyster card, is
recalling some of them to discover how they can rectify the bug, staff have
told the MP". If they have to recall some of the cards, then it does not
sound like a passenger education issue.

Nicholas F Hodder wrote:
"Robin May" wrote in message
.4...

"Announcements are being made at stations telling passengers how to
use the cards in an effort to try to make them work."

That suggests to me it's probably something to do with pre-pay
deducting the maximum fare if passengers don't "touch the card on the
yellow readers at the start and end of your journey". I know that's
not a bug, that's just people using it incorrectly, but I am taking
into account the usual level of Evening Standard inaccuracy.

I thought so too when I read "Announcements are being made at stations
telling passengers how to use the cards in an effort to try to make
them work" but then I read "Prestige, the firm that runs the Oyster
card, is recalling some of them to discover how they can rectify the
bug, staff have told the MP". If they have to recall some of the
cards, then it does not sound like a passenger education issue.

Since the company is Transys, not Prestige, you can draw your own
conclusions about the accuracy of the rest of the story.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

The Tube homepage has a response to the Standards Oyster article. Basically
saying that it was all incorrect.

http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/press...es/0401/23.asp




"Richard J." wrote in message
...
Nicholas F Hodder wrote:
"Robin May" wrote in message
.4...

"Announcements are being made at stations telling passengers how to
use the cards in an effort to try to make them work."

That suggests to me it's probably something to do with pre-pay
deducting the maximum fare if passengers don't "touch the card on the
yellow readers at the start and end of your journey". I know that's
not a bug, that's just people using it incorrectly, but I am taking
into account the usual level of Evening Standard inaccuracy.

I thought so too when I read "Announcements are being made at stations
telling passengers how to use the cards in an effort to try to make
them work" but then I read "Prestige, the firm that runs the Oyster
card, is recalling some of them to discover how they can rectify the
bug, staff have told the MP". If they have to recall some of the
cards, then it does not sound like a passenger education issue.

Since the company is Transys, not Prestige, you can draw your own
conclusions about the accuracy of the rest of the story.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"simon" wrote the following in:


The Tube homepage has a response to the Standards Oyster article.
Basically saying that it was all incorrect.

So the usual level of Evening Standard accuracy then.

--
message by Robin May, succeeding at failure.
Enjoy the Routemaster while you still can.

Crime is confusing.

In message , Nicholas F
Hodder writes
The Evening Standard are today reporting a bug with the Oyster card, but
they don't say what the bug is. Can anyone shed any light on this?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ing%20Standard


Of course, I don't know for certain that this is what the esteemed
Evening Standard is talking about but the majority of the problems I've
seen are due to people now realising that they're supposed to pay for
all the zones they've travelled in and are now getting hammered for
extensions across Zone 1
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 10:44:46 +0000, Kat wrote:
In message , Nicholas F
Hodder writes
The Evening Standard are today reporting a bug with the Oyster card, but
they don't say what the bug is. Can anyone shed any light on this?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ing%20Standard


Of course, I don't know for certain that this is what the esteemed
Evening Standard is talking about but the majority of the problems I've
seen are due to people now realising that they're supposed to pay for
all the zones they've travelled in and are now getting hammered for
extensions across Zone 1

The BBC have slightly more information...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3422051.stm

Commuters whose cards have been affected will see the words
"seek assistance" and the number "24" displayed in the
bottom left-hand corner of ticket barrier screens.

David

In message , David Walters
writes
On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 10:44:46 +0000, Kat wrote:

Of course, I don't know for certain that this is what the esteemed
Evening Standard is talking about but the majority of the problems I've
seen are due to people now realising that they're supposed to pay for
all the zones they've travelled in and are now getting hammered for
extensions across Zone 1

The BBC have slightly more information...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3422051.stm

Commuters whose cards have been affected will see the words
"seek assistance" and the number "24" displayed in the
bottom left-hand corner of ticket barrier screens.

I have only seen one Oyster where there was no obvious reason why a 24
should show up. I don't know how far back Transys can track journeys but
the HHC only shows the last eight (printouts from the TOMs show 10, I
think) but it's possible that if the passenger has made a lot of bus
journeys after a Pre Pay debit has been incurred, that the original out
of zone journey may not then show up although the debit will.
The zone system is hard to remember, even for us, so lots of passengers
don't realise they've gone out of zone. Some, of course, are well aware
that they ought to be paying for Zone 1 travel and are not happy that
the system now catches them out.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 10:44:46 +0000, Kat
wrote:

In message , Nicholas F
Hodder writes
The Evening Standard are today reporting a bug with the Oyster card, but
they don't say what the bug is. Can anyone shed any light on this?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ing%20Standard


Of course, I don't know for certain that this is what the esteemed
Evening Standard is talking about but the majority of the problems I've
seen are due to people now realising that they're supposed to pay for
all the zones they've travelled in and are now getting hammered for
extensions across Zone 1

I assume you're suggesting that abuse of the system (ie travelling
from East London to West London with only a zone 2 and/or 3 ticket)
was widespread prior to Oyster?

This would explain the frequent tunnel ticket checks I used to
encounter at Green Park when changing from Victoria to Piccadilly.


Cheers,

Jason.