Oyster card users: always touch in and out or get fined!

gromituk

Don't get me on to my complaint to TfL when I touched in at three seconds past 7pm and it charged me peak fare...

TheBlonde

Is there any option for appeal against the maximum fare?

I always swipe in and out and yet I still end up with the odd incomplete journey on my card - can the gates be trusted to always read the card correctly??

I don't want to have to check it for every journey I make

Old_Gold

gromituk wrote:

If you think being called silly is an insult, then you ought to get off the internet, for your own sanity. Saying London Transport acts like Nazis is disproportionate and silly.

Try your little games if you like. Yes it was an insult and no I dont need to get off the internet. My sanity might be challenged by unfeeling people like yourself but I dont run away. Are you employed by TFL or just a Livingstone groupie?
If you support intimidating people as this systme is doing it does show who you are. If you think its okay to punish people because your own equipment or system is faulty then you align yourself with the Livingstones of the world.
If you cant feel for people who are faced with heavy fines or criminal records because of a mistake usually created by London Transport then I feel sorry for you. I just hope that more people will actually start to stand up and challenge these unfairnesses that will grow unless we act now.

isasmurf

jinkssick wrote:

I buy a weekly travelcard, but are people sure this wont affect me.

And how does this work when you are solely using the British Rail to travel to your destination. Not all have a oyster reader. remote stations such as Barnes. or Catford Bridge.

If you have a travelcard and travel in the zones covered by your travelcard then there will no effect. You have a valid ticket. If you forget to (or can't) touch in or touch out, it assumes your journey was within the zones covered on your card.

The issue comes when you travel to or from a zone not covered by your travelcard. You must then touch in and touch out for the system to know how much to charge you. When you touch in, £1 (or £1.50 from Z1) will be automatically deducted from your card.

You must remember when switching modes of transport (e.g. NR to tube or tube to DLR) you must touch your card on the readers on the platforms.

I should credit the uk.transport.london newsgroup for this info.

TFL have a FAQ on the new system

Old_Gold

ringo_24601 wrote:

Once London Transport starts restricting the rights of specific groups and systematically sends them to their death, then you can call them Nazi's. Charging you 4 quid for being stupid enough to not swiping a piece of plastic past a tube/bus entrance is not fascism.

No Ringo it isn't but being fined £1000 or having a criminal record might just be moving that way. And I think if you read what others are saying you will see it is not a matter of not swiping the card but the equipment not working.

MKB

I live outside London and only found out about the Oyster card through a message board similar to this one. Thanks to that, I've been able to avoid the rip-off £3 tube charges on my occasional visits to the capital, but I really feel for other visitors who are unaware that they could be paying less.

The first time I used my Oyster card on a bus, I had no idea what the touch pad looked like, where it was or how to tell if it had read my card. The bus driver didn't want to help. I worked out what the pad was and touched it with my card. Later, I discovered I wasn't charged for that journey, so I can see how innocent people could get caught out by jobsworth ticket inspectors.

One question I still don't know the answer to: are you supposed to touch out on a bus, or is that just on train journeys? I didn't see anyone doing this on a bus so assumed not.

peter999

Funny how this wonderful piece of technology, has turned into an Orwellian controlling nightmare, with automatic penalties being imposed.

jinkssick

the only way to make sure you are allowed on the service is to keep the receipt white one, that you get when you purchase. this shows that your ticket is valid.

I am not the happiest person as this service actually means you are being targeted. I take a route that not only constitutes as going in and out but I never get charged even though i go out of my zones.

Old_Gold

MKB wrote:

I live outside London and only found out about the Oyster card through a message board similar to this one. Thanks to that, I've been able to avoid the rip-off £3 tube charges on my occasional visits to the capital, but I really feel for other visitors who are unaware that they could be paying less.

The first time I used my Oyster card on a bus, I had no idea what the touch pad looked like, where it was or how to tell if it had read my card. The bus driver didn't want to help. I worked out what the pad was and touched it with my card. Later, I discovered I wasn't charged for that journey, so I can see how innocent people could get caught out by jobsworth ticket inspectors.

One question I still don't know the answer to: are you supposed to touch out on a bus, or is that just on train journeys? I didn't see anyone doing this on a bus so assumed not.

I appreciated your post which is probably more than TFL would do themselves. The whole point of what is being raised here is that it is unfair and unreasonable the restrictions that our transport system are imposing. In many cases you cannot even use the service unless you have the correct ticket and I believe sometimes money is not allowed. A sad day from when I was young and you would not be refused your journey because you did not have the fare - you could give your name and address.
The oyster system is being sold with beautiful spin that it is cheaper but the fares are high enough as it is and anyone out of the system is being penalised even more.
In answer to your question as far as I know you only touch in on the buses. I have never seen anyone touch out but you never know......big brother is watching.
Ps be careful as they dont actually wear Nazi uniforms.;)

wendy_ann1983

Some people may not wish to register their Oyster cards so that they cannot be "followed" but think of this, if you loose your card you cannot do anything about it, its lost, and so is any moey left on it. On a more sombre note (correct me if I am wrong) but I believe Oyster details were used to find out if people had entered the system on July 7th.

Some people are in such a rush to get out of the gates (ok nobody likes hanging around stations too long) that they all pile into the gates and if the first person has a problem getting out, the person behind taps them out, the person behind them taps them out and so on until the last person cant get themselves out, TIP slow down, make sure you tap yourself out, if you tap your card and it doesnt work, step out of the gate and ask for help, staff may ask you to tap your card again so we can see what is wrong with it, this will not take more money off your card.
On the yellow readers there are three lights, when you go up to the gates you want to see the amber light, when you tap and your card has read the light will go green, if there is a problem the light will go red, if the light is already red, dont try and tap your card it wont be read. This is VERY important if the station you are using has its gates open, you must still tap in.

You do not need to touch out on buses as it is a flat fare no matter how far you travel (they only change with the time of day).

Just because people work for LU does not mean we agree with what people are charged, we all need a job. It only puts backs up when people shout at staff for something they have no control over, we do our job. They send people out to check that the job is being done properly and this includes sending people to buy another ticket if they have lost the original. If we were all 'jobsworths' and went buy the strict rules a lot of people would not travel and would be fined regularly.

As for the system being out dated, well it is the oldest system, there isnt much room for expansion, the system was never intended for carrying soo many people. They are trying to make it better but this is a slow and tedious project. They are trying to get as much done as possible by 2012.

Sorry this is a bit long.