Tom Anderson wrote:
In London, a paper ticket isn't a normal ticket. Oyster is.

Try putting a one day travelcard on an Oyster. Oh hold on , you can't.

Sorry , what were you saying?

B2003

wrote:
service provider having our money up front? Or, do you seriously
suggest that season-ticket holders (for which read Oyster card holders)
should have to pay the exact same fare according to the exact number of
journeys made because that is precisely what the cash-fare-payer would
have to pay? In the same way that you take my example to its logical
but ludicrous extreme, so can yours.

Buying a season ticket is the same as buying in bulk and that usually
gets a discount in most types of transactions whether its a paper
season ticket on an Oyster. My issue is that buying a normal ticket and
buying the SAME type of ticket on Oyster have such a price differential
simply to force you to have an Oyster card.

the tailor advised me to apply for a Burton card there and then, which
I did, which entitled me to a 20% discount! I never used it since, but
was certainly not going to turn down a £200 discount just for filling
in a short form, and using their credit card instead of one I already
had or a cheque.

If you didn't want to pay the higher price for cash you always have the
alternative to go down the road to the next shop. Whats the alternative
option of public transport in london?

They say there's no disciple like the converted - if you have read some
of my earlier contributions, you will realise that I was originally
very opposed to Oyster. I have now used it for 3 or 4 months and am
most decidedly a convert!

Bully for you. I don't have an issue with the card itself , its very
convenient, I've had one myself since they came out (not that I had
much choice in the matter). I have an issue with them stiffing visitors
to the city simply because they DONT have an oyster card. Its counter
productive and just petty spiteful beaurocracy.

B2003

tim..... wrote:
"Al Holmes" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:18:06 -0000, "tim....."
wrote:

"Al Holmes" wrote in message
...
On 28 Dec 2006 11:49:49 -0800, "Boltar"
wrote:


Why would you? I don't know any other city metro that penalises people
for buying a normal ticket. If you know otherwise then please tell us
where.

Amsterdam - a single fare paid on the tram costs more than if you buy
a 15 or 45 strip strippenkaart.
This is true of any town that has strip tickets.

But it can't be considered to be a 'normal' ticket because
it's not possible to make seven and a half journeys.

tim

Of course it's a normal ticket

But its not a normal single ride ticket.

Some places don't do simple single ride tickets, just timed tickets -
Poznan has a range starting at 10min validity, 60 or 90min are fairly
common.

snip
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

I think Oyster really is tourist-friendly. When I'm leaving the
Netherlands I'm not going to get the value left on my strippenkaart
back, but a tourist in London can just hand in his Oyster and get his
£3 deposit + any value left on it return. Next to that, Oyster cards
never expire which the Dutch strippenkaart does.
I hope the complete switch isn't far off. What happens if a tourist
goes up to the ticket window and asks what might be the best option for
him if he's staying here for a week, for example? Are staff instructed
to tell them about the advantages of Oyster?

Some even more clear signs aimed at tourists at the stations that they
usually enter London through (All the terminal stations and Heathrow /
LCY basically) might make it a bit more clear.

Mizter T wrote:


Get an Oyster, use an Oyster, tell your friends and family to do the
same, or be a mug and pay the higher fares.

I had an Oyster once. I bought it because everyone said "Oh they're so
great!" But I ever only needed to use it two or three times in the two
years I had it. Then next time I tried to use it, it just plain didn't
work at all. The card had just died, and wouldn't respond to the
readers. And I still had nearly five quid on it!

I suppose I should have tried to register it, and sent off to get a
replacement. But why bother for something I never use and probably
won't work anyway...? Far simpler just to write my five pounds off as
lost to the system.

And in the the year since it's broken down, I've only _once_ been in a
situation where I could have saved any money by using Oyster. I'd
probably lose more money on faulty cards in the long run...

So I _will_ be telling my friends and family to do the same, and stay
well clear of Oyster. It's the most useless and over-rated piece of
technology ever inflicted on the travelling public. And the sooner
we're rid of it the better.

sweek wrote:

I think Oyster really is tourist-friendly. When I'm leaving the
Netherlands I'm not going to get the value left on my strippenkaart
back, but a tourist in London can just hand in his Oyster and get his
£3 deposit + any value left on it return.

You can't get the three quid deposit back on a card that's so faulty
it's totally unreadable. I'm speaking from first hand experience here.

Boltar wrote:

I have an issue with them stiffing visitors
to the city simply because they DONT have an oyster card. Its counter
productive and just petty spiteful beaurocracy.

Still frothing I see. Now let's see... it takes the same time to buy an
Oyster at the ticket window as anything else, and of course you can also buy
a travelcard, which most other transit systems provide. If you go to New
York, you'd be mad not to buy a daily or weekly Metrocard, and their pay as
you go system also has a free trip incentive. I've been to many European
cities recently and never had a problem, but I do agree most are much
cheaper for single tickets than LU, but this has been the case for a long
time.

And buying the odd single full cash fare is not going to bankrupt anyone,
while the great incentive to move to a cashless, ticketless ystem is
obvioulsy working.

E.

On Fri, 29 Dec 2006, Boltar wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

In London, a paper ticket isn't a normal ticket. Oyster is.

Try putting a one day travelcard on an Oyster. Oh hold on , you can't.

Sorry , what were you saying?

I was saying that Oyster is the normal form of ticket. Which it is.

tom

--
It's just really ****ing good and that's all. -- Gabe, on the Macintosh

Tom Anderson wrote:

On Fri, 29 Dec 2006, Boltar wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

In London, a paper ticket isn't a normal ticket. Oyster is.

Try putting a one day travelcard on an Oyster. Oh hold on , you can't.

Sorry , what were you saying?

I was saying that Oyster is the normal form of ticket. Which it is.

For season ticket holders yes it is , but people who are here just for
a day or 2 and want to tour the city will want 1 day travelcards which
Osyer doesn't support. Sure , you can use it in prepay mode but you'll
pay through the nose if you make more than a few journeys whereas a
travelcard is a one off cost. Though knowing Ken & Tfl I suspect thats
the whole point - prepay brings in more revenue. Wouldn't surprise me
if the 1 day travelcard ceases to exist in the next few years and the
clock will roll back to 1985 where you only had the choice of singles
or returns (which is all prepay is at the end of the day).

B2003

Boltar wrote:

For season ticket holders yes it is , but people who are here just for
a day or 2 and want to tour the city will want 1 day travelcards which
Osyer doesn't support.

And what about people who live in London but don't use season tickets?
Or who use point-to-point NR seasons with no travelcard/tube/bus/zonal
options?

Oyster is next-to-useless for us too.

Though knowing Ken & Tfl I suspect thats
the whole point - prepay brings in more revenue. Wouldn't surprise me
if the 1 day travelcard ceases to exist in the next few years and the
clock will roll back to 1985 where you only had the choice of singles
or returns (which is all prepay is at the end of the day).

I'd be in favour of that if they were dirt-cheap returns and singles,
cheaper than one day travelcards because you're not paying for
unnecessary bus journeys, but implemented using proven tried-and-tested
technology like paper and cardboard, not unreliable new-fangled smart
cards that break down after you've only used them two or three times!