I've had a particularly busy week traveling around London and have
noticed I'm being asked for my ticket by various badge-flashing folks
hovering behind the barriers rather more than usual.

maybe it's my using the gates rather than barriers some days due to
carrying a rucksack with light stands tied to the side, or maybe I'm
rushing through barriers in a shifty-looking-way, or is it the last
few months of the financial year and revenue protection have to get
their quota-up. am I noticing an increase because there is one or am I
making myself a target somehow?

It's the ultimate irony that my rushing and being late seems to
attract this attention and delay me!
--
Mark Varley
www.TwistedPhotography.co.uk
London, England.

On 25 Jan, 16:02, MarkVarley - MVP
wrote:
I've had a particularly busy week traveling around London and have
noticed I'm being asked for my ticket by various badge-flashing folks
hovering behind the barriers rather more than usual.

maybe it's my using the gates rather than barriers some days due to
carrying a rucksack with light stands tied to the side, or maybe I'm
rushing through barriers in a shifty-looking-way, or is it the last
few months of the financial year and revenue protection have to get
their quota-up. am I noticing an increase because there is one or am I
making myself a target somehow?

It's the ultimate irony that my rushing and being late seems to
attract this attention and delay me!


I'm guessing that when you say you are using the gates as opposed to
the barriers you mean the manual side gate (opened on request by
staff) rather than the automatic barriers, but you're not entirely
clear on this and there is a danger of getting things very confused
with regards to different interpretations of the terminology in use!

I shall elaborate - on London Underground AIUI the official term for
an automated ticket barrier is an "automatic ticket gate" (or
something very similar), often referred to as just an "automatic gate"
or even just a "gate" (which will forms part of a "gateline").
Meanwhile the side gate through which one can pass with bulky luggage,
pram, wheelchair or child etc is called a "manual gate" to distinguish
it from the automatic gates.

On the big railway (i.e. National Rail) the term "ticket barrier" does
not necessarily refer to an automated system whatsoever - it can
simply mean the barrier through which one must pass and present one's
ticket to a member of railway staff. This kind of ticket check is much
less common these days than it used to be, which is a result of the so-
called 'open station concept' - nonetheless it still exists, for
example at Euston before boarding a Virgin intercity train, or
alternatively at local stations when a Revenue Protection team turns
up once in awhile.

Because of this historical usage of the term "ticket barrier", the
automated ticket barriers often seem to be referred to as "automatic
barriers" on National Rail, as opposed to "automatic gates" on LU.
Confused yet?

If you are using a manual gate (i.e. side gate) then one can obviously
be expected to show your ticket or alternatively touch your Oyster /
Freedom Pass / VTCS card on the Oyster pad.

If you have been stopped having gone through a ticket gate then I
would think it most likely that it's just a routine check - sometimes
RPIs (Revenue Protection Inspectors) may only be targeting people
using Oyster cards to check they are not misusing them, for example.
That said, it may be the case that they were only pulling some people
over for a double-check and your light stand arrangement on your
backpack was rather out of the ordinary I wouldn't worry about it if
all that's happened is an extra ticket-check - I've experienced
similar.

There are also the WAGs - the Wide-Antidisestablishment Gates - which
are for people with luggage or prams or wheelchairs or acromegalics or
daleks. Sometimes these are used by humans who are not so encumbered.
Why? Have they got something to hide?

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:58:47 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote this gibberish:


On 25 Jan, 16:02, MarkVarley - MVP
wrote:
I've had a particularly busy week traveling around London and have
noticed I'm being asked for my ticket by various badge-flashing folks
hovering behind the barriers rather more than usual.

maybe it's my using the gates rather than barriers some days due to
carrying a rucksack with light stands tied to the side, or maybe I'm
rushing through barriers in a shifty-looking-way, or is it the last
few months of the financial year and revenue protection have to get
their quota-up. am I noticing an increase because there is one or am I
making myself a target somehow?

It's the ultimate irony that my rushing and being late seems to
attract this attention and delay me!


I'm guessing that when you say you are using the gates as opposed to
the barriers you mean the manual side gate (opened on request by
staff) rather than the automatic barriers, but you're not entirely
clear on this and there is a danger of getting things very confused
with regards to different interpretations of the terminology in use!

I should have seen the potential for confusion there!
By 'barriers' I refer to the automated double-flappy-things 'automated
ticket gate'.
This week I've been using more the manually operated side gates (when
there was someone there to operate it)
also the big two-way automatic gates presumerably for push-chairs,
wheelchairs, mad-men-with-entire-studios-tied-to-their-backs.

I shall elaborate - on London Underground AIUI the official term for
an automated ticket barrier is an "automatic ticket gate" (or
something very similar), often referred to as just an "automatic gate"
or even just a "gate" (which will forms part of a "gateline").
Meanwhile the side gate through which one can pass with bulky luggage,
pram, wheelchair or child etc is called a "manual gate" to distinguish
it from the automatic gates.

On the big railway (i.e. National Rail) the term "ticket barrier" does
not necessarily refer to an automated system whatsoever - it can
simply mean the barrier through which one must pass and present one's
ticket to a member of railway staff. This kind of ticket check is much
less common these days than it used to be, which is a result of the so-
called 'open station concept' - nonetheless it still exists, for
example at Euston before boarding a Virgin intercity train, or
alternatively at local stations when a Revenue Protection team turns
up once in awhile.

Because of this historical usage of the term "ticket barrier", the
automated ticket barriers often seem to be referred to as "automatic
barriers" on National Rail, as opposed to "automatic gates" on LU.
Confused yet?

If you are using a manual gate (i.e. side gate) then one can obviously
be expected to show your ticket or alternatively touch your Oyster /
Freedom Pass / VTCS card on the Oyster pad.

In such cases I tap my wallet on the pad next to the gate as I walk
past, without pausing, it beeps and off I go, until stopped by someone
who didn't hear the beep...

If you have been stopped having gone through a ticket gate then I
would think it most likely that it's just a routine check - sometimes
RPIs (Revenue Protection Inspectors) may only be targeting people
using Oyster cards to check they are not misusing them, for example.
That said, it may be the case that they were only pulling some people
over for a double-check and your light stand arrangement on your
backpack was rather out of the ordinary I wouldn't worry about it if
all that's happened is an extra ticket-check - I've experienced
similar.

Wide-load catches the eye and I'm chosen at random it seems.
As long as I'm remembering which-way-up to touch my wallet on the pads
so the right oyster is used for the trip then alls well, don't think
I've mucked it up yet!
(VCTS is free travel and I only use it for personal journeys, I
consider it unsporting to use it for business travel so there is an
oyster on the other side of the wallet (behind the work ID so I
remember which way around it goes).
--
Mark Varley
MarkVarleyPhoto.co.uk
TwistedPhotography.co.uk
London, England.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 11:04:22 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote this gibberish:

There are also the WAGs - the Wide-Antidisestablishment Gates - which
are for people with luggage or prams or wheelchairs or acromegalics or
daleks. Sometimes these are used by humans who are not so encumbered.
Why? Have they got something to hide?

Thats what they are!
I've been using those also more lately as trying to use a 'normal'
barrier/gate would create, at least, an amusing dog-stick-fence
scenario.
--
Mark Varley
MarkVarleyPhoto.co.uk
TwistedPhotography.co.uk
London, England.

On Jan 25, 7:37*pm, MarkVarley - MVP
wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 11:04:22 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote this gibberish:

There are also the WAGs - the Wide-Antidisestablishment Gates - which
are for people with luggage or prams or wheelchairs or acromegalics or
daleks. Sometimes these are used by humans who are not so encumbered.
Why? Have they got something to hide?

Thats what they are!
I've been using those also more lately as trying to use a 'normal'
barrier/gate would create, at least, an amusing dog-stick-fence
scenario.

They are very useful gates, but forget about 'doubling' out. You can
sextuple out through them easier than a sextet of sexy sextuplets on
sexadrine.

On 25 Jan, 19:04, Offramp wrote:
There are also the WAGs - the Wide-Antidisestablishment Gates - which
are for people with luggage or prams or wheelchairs or acromegalics or
daleks. Sometimes these are used by humans who are not so encumbered.
Why? Have they got something to hide?

I missed them out because I was trying to keep it simple - or more to
the point trying not to complicate it more than I had done already.

I've used them now and again, simply because... well, because they're
there! At LO stations with a small (and newly installed) gatelines
it's sometimes the case that there is just two 'normal' gates, for in
and out, so the WAG gates are definitely there for the use of
unencumbered passengers. I dunno about the official rules but they
also seem to be used sometimes by adults with a small accompanying
child in tow, the latter of course travels for free if they are under
11. At the time they were being introduced there was some speculation
on here and elsewhere that the WAGs would be abused* by multiple
people (i.e. adults) going through at once but I haven't yet come
across this - I dare say the fact they are normally situated on the
side next to where gateline staff stand may be a deterrent against
anyone wishing to try this.


-----
* I purposefully omit the joke in poor taste that could follow here.

Offramp wrote:

There are also the WAGs - the Wide-Antidisestablishment Gates - which
are for people with luggage or prams or wheelchairs or acromegalics or
daleks. Sometimes these are used by humans who are not so encumbered.
Why? Have they got something to hide?

I use them a bit, partially because when I have a side bag it's easier to
get through than twist through the regular gates, but also because the
Oyster readers on the WAGs are custom built-in to the gate and I find them
more consistently reliable than the readers added to the regular ones, where
on a number of occasions I, or the person in front of me, can't get through
on the first touch.

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

[wide gates]

I've used them now and again, simply because... well, because they're
there! At LO stations with a small (and newly installed) gatelines
it's sometimes the case that there is just two 'normal' gates, for in
and out, so the WAG gates are definitely there for the use of
unencumbered passengers...

I used a new 'wide gate' at Southampton Central the other day because two
idiots with mountain bikes were jammed in the only two gates (of 5) set
'inwards' towards platform 1 in the evening peak. You couldn't make it up...

However, back OT, as they are apparently the same 'CTS' gates as LU use, the
timing of the wide gates does seem very long, it would be very easy to
'tailgate' your way through, if it wasn't for close staff supervision.

Paul S

Mizter T wrote:
... I dunno about the official rules but they
also seem to be used sometimes by adults with a small accompanying
child in tow, the latter of course travels for free if they are under
11.

The ordinary gates will only let one person through at a time, so
children without their own ticket *must* use the wide / manual gates
or they get squished.

I've never seen a dog get squished in the gates though, despite having
twice as many legs as most children, which I think is proof that dogs
are more intelligent than children.

Owain