elyob wrote:
On Sep 10, 1:43 pm, Neil Williams wrote:
On Sep 10, 1:31 pm, elyob wrote:

Also, to be honest, as they provide no easy way to do this, they can
spend the time thumping the keys and double checking it. I can't be
bothered!- Hide quoted text -
Why not go to the station and get them to "thump the keys" to issue a
week's worth in one go?

Neil

That's what I did last week, and will do again this week. Takes ages,
therefore I was wondering whether I could get them to take "really
ages" and ask for a full month? How far in the future can they book
tickets for?

I was going to suggest that if you both lots of future tickets they may
get the hint and reduce the price of the season ticket.

But then I remember it's a train company, so they'll just put up the
price of the daily ticket instead!

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009, elyob wrote:

I just signed up for both Southern and NXEC websites, and they are
unable to book more than four journeys, so I can't do a complete week.
Also, they don't allow me to book multiple days at one go - which means
I'm having to retype in the station names etc every time. A bit of a
pain. If I click "back to search" it starts editing one of the saved
journeys, aarrgghhhh.

I might see whether they'll give me my own API access and I'll write
something that is a bit more useful! Any one here in the IT dept of
WebTIS?

A website is an API. It may not have been designed as one, but that
doesn't stop it being one! Just write a program which drives a web
browser, fills in forms, pushes buttons, etc. If you do java, see:

http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/

If not, consult google and/or your pineal gland.

tom

--
Men? Women? Give me a colossal death robot any day!

On Sep 11, 4:12*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Thu, 10 Sep 2009, elyob wrote:
I just signed up for both Southern and NXEC websites, and they are
unable to book more than four journeys, so I can't do a complete week.
Also, they don't allow me to book multiple days at one go - which means
I'm having to retype in the station names etc every time. A bit of a
pain. If I click "back to search" it starts editing one of the saved
journeys, aarrgghhhh.

I might see whether they'll give me my own API access and I'll write
something that is a bit more useful! Any one here in the IT dept of
WebTIS?

A website is an API. It may not have been designed as one, but that
doesn't stop it being one! Just write a program which drives a web
browser, fills in forms, pushes buttons, etc. If you do java, see:

http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/

If not, consult google and/or your pineal gland.

tom


Yup, spot on. I suddenly thought that I could just use greasemonkey in
firefox to do it. Will investigate

Shame they can't increase the number to five tickets, save having to
do two transactions.

Did end up standing in front of the machine for some time whilst it
printed!

On Sep 11, 4:12*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Thu, 10 Sep 2009, elyob wrote:
I just signed up for both Southern and NXEC websites, and they are
unable to book more than four journeys, so I can't do a complete week.
Also, they don't allow me to book multiple days at one go - which means
I'm having to retype in the station names etc every time. A bit of a
pain. If I click "back to search" it starts editing one of the saved
journeys, aarrgghhhh.

I might see whether they'll give me my own API access and I'll write
something that is a bit more useful! Any one here in the IT dept of
WebTIS?

A website is an API. It may not have been designed as one, but that
doesn't stop it being one! Just write a program which drives a web
browser, fills in forms, pushes buttons, etc. If you do java, see:

http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/

If not, consult google and/or your pineal gland.


Actually, the iMacro plugin for Firefox is ideal for this. Created a
script in a few minutes using the text only version of the Southern
site.

Result!

If I were in the position where it was cheaper for me to buy daily
tickets than a season, I would not buy tickets in advance. Then if
for any reason I didn't travel (sick, leaves on the line, wrong type
of snow, Bob Crow ...) at least I wouldn't be out of pocket, or faced
with the hassle of trying to get a refund on an unused ticket.

Peter

On Sep 13, 11:55*am, peter wrote:
If I were in the position where it was cheaper for me to buy daily
tickets than a season, I would not buy tickets in advance. *Then if
for any reason I didn't travel (sick, leaves on the line, wrong type
of snow, Bob Crow ...) at least I wouldn't be out of pocket, or faced
with the hassle of trying to get a refund on an unused ticket.

Peter

For me, the queues are more painful on a daily basis and I'd probably
spend 45 minutes a week queuing. Probably end up missing my train and
getting to work half an hour late. I will probably just buy tickets
for the week ahead, so know if I am expected to go somewhere else
before I book.

Getting a refund shouldn't be too much trouble, should it?

Oh .. and here's my iMacro script (for firefox) for the Southern
website ... you just need to input your date of travel ... I might
keep investigating the options available, but this is good enough for
me ....

VERSION BUILD=6240709 RECORDER=FX
TAB T=1
PROMPT PleaseSPenterSPbookingSPdate !VAR1
URL GOTO=http://tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/JourneyPlanning/
Wizard/
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e CONTENT=Surbiton
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e
CONTENT=FarnboroughSPMain
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstReturnDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardHou r CONTENT=%8
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_TicketOptionL ist_2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:rdoOutwardSelect0
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm ATTR=ID:rdoReturnSelect2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnBuyCheapes tTicketOnSelectedServices
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02

On Sep 13, 12:40*pm, elyob wrote:

On Sep 13, 11:55*am, peter wrote:

If I were in the position where it was cheaper for me to buy daily
tickets than a season, I would not buy tickets in advance. *Then if
for any reason I didn't travel (sick, leaves on the line, wrong type
of snow, Bob Crow ...) at least I wouldn't be out of pocket, or faced
with the hassle of trying to get a refund on an unused ticket.

For me, the queues are more painful on a daily basis and I'd probably
spend 45 minutes a week queuing. Probably end up missing my train and
getting to work half an hour late. I will probably just buy tickets
for the week ahead, so know if I am expected to go somewhere else
before I book.

Quite - and queues can be unpredictable. Having to buy a bloody ticket
every morning would be a right PITA.


Getting a refund shouldn't be too much trouble, should it?

Oh .. and here's my iMacro script (for firefox) for the Southern
website ... you just need to input your date of travel ... I might
keep investigating the options available, but this is good enough for
me ....

VERSION BUILD=6240709 RECORDER=FX
TAB T=1
PROMPT PleaseSPenterSPbookingSPdate !VAR1
URL GOTO=http://tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/JourneyPlanning/
Wizard/
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e CONTENT=Surbiton
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e
CONTENT=FarnboroughSPMain
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstReturnDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardHou r CONTENT=%8
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_TicketOptionL ist_2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:rdoOutwardSelect0
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm ATTR=ID:rdoReturnSelect2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnBuyCheapes tTicketOnSelectedServices
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02


Wow, clever stuff - I must admit I've never come across the iMacro
plugin for Firefox before (sometimes I rather feel like I'm becoming a
luddite by default simply by failing to keep up with things, rather
than out of an active avoidance of 'the new'!). I'll have a play
around with that at some time.

Glad you've managed to find a solution of sorts to your dilemma.

On Sep 13, 9:44*am, elyob wrote:

On Sep 11, 4:12*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009, elyob wrote:
[snip]
I might see whether they'll give me my own API access and I'll write
something that is a bit more useful! Any one here in the IT dept of
WebTIS?

A website is an API. It may not have been designed as one, but that
doesn't stop it being one! Just write a program which drives a web
browser, fills in forms, pushes buttons, etc. If you do java, see:

http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/

If not, consult google and/or your pineal gland.

Yup, spot on. I suddenly thought that I could just use greasemonkey in
firefox to do it. Will investigate

Shame they can't increase the number to five tickets, save having to
do two transactions.

Did end up standing in front of the machine for some time whilst it
printed!

Yeah, been there and done that whilst the machine has been churning
out an untold number of coupons (the result of the one-day Southern
super cheapo Advance ticket offer - so each ticket came with a
reservations coupon too). It might perhaps be considerate to avoid
doing this on a Monday morning - though thinking about it I suspect
Surbiton has a fair few ticket machines.

Mizter T wrote:

I suspect Surbiton has a fair few ticket machines.

Considering the high proportion of annual seasons, I doubt it.

On Sun, 13 Sep 2009, elyob wrote:

Oh .. and here's my iMacro script (for firefox) for the Southern
website ... you just need to input your date of travel ... I might
keep investigating the options available, but this is good enough for
me ....

I love it when a plan comes together!

VERSION BUILD=6240709 RECORDER=FX
TAB T=1
PROMPT PleaseSPenterSPbookingSPdate !VAR1
URL GOTO=http://tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/JourneyPlanning/
Wizard/
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e CONTENT=Surbiton
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:TEXT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_txtStationNam e
CONTENT=FarnboroughSPMain
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstReturnDay CONTENT={{!VAR1}}
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SELECT FORM=NAME:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_lstOutwardHou r CONTENT=%8
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_TicketOptionL ist_2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnNext
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm
ATTR=ID:rdoOutwardSelect0
TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:RADIO FORM=ID:aspnetForm ATTR=ID:rdoReturnSelect2
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN
ATTR=ID:ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_btnBuyCheapes tTicketOnSelectedServices
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02
TAG POS=1 TYPE=SPAN ATTR=ID:ctl00_ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ctl02

Nice. That looks like a pretty useful plugin.

tom

--
The Impossible is True