Anyone have any data on the reliability of Oyster? My PP has
started playing up lately on the buses; first an occasional beep and red
light, followed by either a successful second swipe or the driver waving
me through. Tonight on the U1 at Brunel the reader wouldn't even produce
an error so I had to fork out cash. Coming back from Uxbridge on a U1,
the first swipe produced no response, the second a red light and a
"Communication Failure" message. I was diving into my pocket for cash
when the driver suggested I try again, and on the third attempt it worked
perfectly.

I rarely use the Tube, so I don't know how its response compares,
Tubs vs. buses. Physically the card looks in perfect shape (I keep it in
my shirt pocket, not in my wallet).

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. ] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote:
Anyone have any data on the reliability of Oyster? My PP has
started playing up lately on the buses; first an occasional beep and red
light, followed by either a successful second swipe or the driver waving
me through. Tonight on the U1 at Brunel the reader wouldn't even produce
an error so I had to fork out cash. Coming back from Uxbridge on a U1,
the first swipe produced no response, the second a red light and a
"Communication Failure" message. I was diving into my pocket for cash
when the driver suggested I try again, and on the third attempt it worked
perfectly.

Your oyster is on the way out, my first one lastest about 5 months,
started going intermittent, and about a week later didn't register at
all. I kept in my jeans pocket.

Get a replacement one (for free, or it should be) from a tube counter.

On 23 Jun 2006 02:23:57 -0700, "Paul Weaver"
wrote:
Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote:
Anyone have any data on the reliability of Oyster? My PP has
started playing up lately on the buses; first an occasional beep and red
light, followed by either a successful second swipe or the driver waving
me through. [...]

Your oyster is on the way out, my first one lastest about 5 months,
started going intermittent, and about a week later didn't register at
all. I kept in my jeans pocket.

Get a replacement one (for free, or it should be) from a tube counter.

Mine has done that from the start, it doesn't seem to be getting any
worse but it's still annoying. When it doesn't work properly, it's
favourite way to fail is to be read successfully followed immediately
by a "Card communication failure" error message.

On the underground it always works but sometimes the gates open and as
I walk through I hear what sounds like an error beep. Perhaps these
two problems are the bus and underground versions of the same failure.
When I asked for a new card at Waterloo they said that the problem was
with the bus ticket machines and that they wouldn't change it. I'll
ask again...

Richard.

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:18:11 +0000 (UTC), Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote:

Anyone have any data on the reliability of Oyster? My PP has
started playing up lately on the buses; first an occasional beep and red
light, followed by either a successful second swipe or the driver waving
me through. Tonight on the U1 at Brunel the reader wouldn't even produce
an error so I had to fork out cash. Coming back from Uxbridge on a U1,
the first swipe produced no response, the second a red light and a
"Communication Failure" message. I was diving into my pocket for cash
when the driver suggested I try again, and on the third attempt it worked
perfectly.

Perhaps the problem is that you're not supposed to "swipe" it. You
should hold the card stationary above the reader until it finishes the
communication.

On Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:32:21 +0100, asdf
wrote in :
On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:18:11 +0000 (UTC), Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote:

Anyone have any data on the reliability of Oyster? My PP has
started playing up lately on the buses; first an occasional beep and red
light, followed by either a successful second swipe or the driver waving
me through. Tonight on the U1 at Brunel the reader wouldn't even produce
an error so I had to fork out cash. Coming back from Uxbridge on a U1,
the first swipe produced no response, the second a red light and a
"Communication Failure" message. I was diving into my pocket for cash
when the driver suggested I try again, and on the third attempt it worked
perfectly.

Perhaps the problem is that you're not supposed to "swipe" it. You
should hold the card stationary above the reader until it finishes the
communication.

I knew I should have put "swipe" in quotation marks...

Top marks for pedantry!

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. ] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

Richard wrote:
When I asked for a new card at Waterloo they said that the problem was
with the bus ticket machines and that they wouldn't change it. I'll
ask again...

In that case demand a refund for all the cash fares you've had to make