Paul Corfield wrote:
On Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:57:55 +0100, "Batman55"
wrote:

"trainmanUK" wrote in message
...
Now that the new wide gates have replaced the old manual ones I notice
a reduction in staff hear the barriers. A couple of time recently at
High Street Ken at about 2000 there have been no staff visible
anywhere.

Are we moving to the Paris Metro situation where the staff can remain
in the office and only come out if there is a problem or are they
reducing the number of staff at stations ?
Some years ago I was with a colleague at La Defense and his ticket wouldn't
work, no one came to his aid despite my shouting in my best Franglais at the
ticket office clerk, and in the end he had to climb over the barrier. Nobody
objected!

Well yes but La Defense is a perfect example of the nonsense of Paris's
fare scheme once outside the central area. The Metro to La Defense is
all flat fare. If you use the RER it is in Zone 2 or 3 and therefore
there are gates to check whether you have a valid ticket [1]. People
moan about London's alleged lack of fare integration but we don't have
that sort of nonsense although Thameslink at Farringdon might get close.

Still I am sure someone will invent a Crossrail premium zone [2]
sometime between now and it opening as a way to screw more revenue out
of passengers.

[1] I, too, once got caught out there but was let out of the gateline
with a gallic shrug by the member of station staff.
[2] in the same way that people invented a new zone for the cross river
section between Island Gardens and Greenwich as a way of creating a
specific revenue stream to pay the "toll" the infrastructure owner
levies on DLR for use of that link. Thankfully Mr Prescott stopped that
particular bit of nonsense before the line opened.

Don't special fares apply between Kenton and Harrow & Wealdstone, on the
Bakerloo Line? What's that about?