In message , "tim (moved to sweden)"
writes
What I find annoying is some countries[1] insistance on translating,
into multiple languages, the instructions for using the machine (put
money in slot etc), which IMHO a child the age of 10 can work out for
themselves and keeping the complicated zonal rules only in the home
language. How on earth can I "press the button for the correct ticket
for you journey" if you haven't told me how I can work out what
actually is the correct ticket for my journey.

Glad it's not just me that gets annoyed by that!

(Cologne was doing that when I first visited it in my teens [1975].)

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:22:04 +0100, Ian Jelf
wrote:

Although my balance always seems to come up on 'bus readers, only once
or twice have I seen it come up on a tube gate reader. I thought at
one time that that was because I's just topped up but maybe there's
another reason for its apparently randomly doing this?

On the newer ticket gates, it appears on the screen. On the older
ones, it appears on the LCD display by the yellow Oyster pad.

In message , asdf
writes
On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:22:04 +0100, Ian Jelf
wrote:

Although my balance always seems to come up on 'bus readers, only once
or twice have I seen it come up on a tube gate reader. I thought at
one time that that was because I's just topped up but maybe there's
another reason for its apparently randomly doing this?

On the newer ticket gates, it appears on the screen. On the older
ones, it appears on the LCD display by the yellow Oyster pad.

Thanks! I knew there'd be an explanation and that someone here would
have it. I've only noticed the newer kind of gates and the apparently
"random" nature of this just reflects my very random use of the Tube!

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Ian Jelf typed


I think that the concept of cheaper fares on Pre Pay is something very
difficult to explain to the casual traveller. Indeed, even the thought
of having to buy tickets from a roadside machine before climbing on a
'bus seems to put off many of my clients!

Would it be possible for you to buy a 'job lot' of unregistered Oyster
PrePay, with, say £5 credit on them for you to sell on to your clients,
after some explanation. There would be some faff factor, but possibly
less in the long run.

Those of your clients with Internet access could be advised to visit the
TfL website in advance, so they understand the system a bit better.
Slapping an Oyster on a reader should not be daunting.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:27:05 +0100, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message , "tim (moved to sweden)"
writes
What I find annoying is some countries[1] insistance on translating,
into multiple languages, the instructions for using the machine (put
money in slot etc), which IMHO a child the age of 10 can work out for
themselves and keeping the complicated zonal rules only in the home
language. How on earth can I "press the button for the correct ticket
for you journey" if you haven't told me how I can work out what
actually is the correct ticket for my journey.

Glad it's not just me that gets annoyed by that!

(Cologne was doing that when I first visited it in my teens [1975].)

Antwerpen did it to me...

The ticket machines on the Grenoble tramway say "Croydon Tramlink
wishes you a good journey" if you select the English option!


--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

In message , Arthur Figgis
] writes
The ticket machines on the Grenoble tramway say "Croydon Tramlink
wishes you a good journey" if you select the English option!

ROFL! :-))
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

In message , Helen Deborah
Vecht writes
Ian Jelf typed


I think that the concept of cheaper fares on Pre Pay is something very
difficult to explain to the casual traveller. Indeed, even the thought
of having to buy tickets from a roadside machine before climbing on a
'bus seems to put off many of my clients!

Would it be possible for you to buy a 'job lot' of unregistered Oyster
PrePay, with, say £5 credit on them for you to sell on to your clients,
after some explanation. There would be some faff factor, but possibly
less in the long run.
Well, given that I have as a broad average 10 -50 people in any given
group on any day (not all in London, though), that would involve typing
up between £50 and £250 tied up in such cards at any given time.

And - to be honest - I suspect that few people would be interested.

Those of your clients with Internet access could be advised to visit the
TfL website in advance,
I don't usually have any contact with clients in advance so that
wouldn't work.

so they understand the system a bit better.
Slapping an Oyster on a reader should not be daunting.
You'd be surprised, Helen!

Interestingly, people from overseas often tend to be, much more at home
with London's transport system than people from other parts of the UK.
My group this weekend were on what was essentially a theatre break and
many of them do the same thing several times a year. And yet I
estimate that 80% of them went no further than they could walk from Park
Lane this morning (bearing in mind we dropped them off there at about
1030 and picked them up at 1500). Coming back to the coach, four
ladies managed to get lost between Hyde Park Corner and the coach which
was parked near the new "Animals at War" monument near Upper Brook
Street.

Last night two people tried to "latch on" to another (much more
resourceful) couple because they were nervous about my instructions to
get to the Dominion Theatre in Tottenham Court Road from the drop off in
Shaftesbury Avenue, despite my careful explanation.

Although it may seem otherwise, I'm not painting these people out to be
dim or stupid but just trying to explain that what probably seems
commonplace to people on utl can seem very, very unfamiliar to people
who are strangers to London.

And yes, slapping an Oyster Card on a yellow disc *would* intimidate
some!
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes
From Jan 2006 they would both be £3 each, total £6, or £1.50 and £2
plus £3 for the Oyster, total £6.50, plus "cost" for an Oyster reader
to know if I've got enough credit on it the next time I use it months
later. Terrific!
What a prat. I'm a pensioner who lives in the Lake district and travel
to London to see family and friends, I don't know from one week to the
next when I'll be invited down again, but I realise the convenience
Oyster gives me and have had one for some time now. I don't queue for
tickets at bus stops or tube stations and the capping means I always get
the best value even if I get on the wrong bus, have to get off and
retrace my steps, it doesn't cost me a penny extra. Further each time
I enter a tube station if the machine is clear for topping up, I just go
to it. Put my card to the reader and it gives me my balance. If
you're graduate material then the standards in this country have
certainly gone down the drain.
--
Clive

Arthur Figgis ] wrote
[...]
language. How on earth can I "press the button for the correct
ticket
for you journey" if you haven't told me how I can work out what
actually is the correct ticket for my journey.

Glad it's not just me that gets annoyed by that!

(Cologne was doing that when I first visited it in my teens [1975].)

Antwerpen did it to me...

The ticket machines on the Grenoble tramway say "Croydon Tramlink
wishes you a good journey" if you select the English option!

Hee !

When I last looked the London leaflets were just translations of the
English ones and did not feel it necessary to explain that underground
tickets were inclusive of any changes but a new bus ticket was needed
for each bus taken.

Has this yet been considered ?

--
Mike D

In article ,
(Clive) wrote:

In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes
From Jan 2006 they would both be £3 each, total £6, or £1.50 and £2
plus £3 for the Oyster, total £6.50, plus "cost" for an Oyster
reader to know if I've got enough credit on it the next time I use
it months later. Terrific!
What a prat. I'm a pensioner who lives in the Lake district and
travel to London to see family and friends, I don't know from one week
to the next when I'll be invited down again, but I realise the
convenience Oyster gives me and have had one for some time now. I
don't queue for tickets at bus stops or tube stations and the capping
means I always get the best value even if I get on the wrong bus, have
to get off and retrace my steps, it doesn't cost me a penny extra.
Further each time I enter a tube station if the machine is clear for
topping up, I just go to it. Put my card to the reader and it gives me
my balance. If you're graduate material then the standards in this
country have certainly gone down the drain.

You can have one-day travelcard fares from the Lake District?

--
Colin Rosenstiel