THIS is why I hate TFL!

Mr_Singleton

Have some friends over this evening for drinks .... they’re from out of town staying at a Travelodge in Enfield.

This morning the wife of the friend needed to meet a friend at Bruce grove station at 10am. She went to the TFL journey planner website to get a bus route. It gave her the route as 1 bus to Turkey Street then another to Edmonton Police Station then change to Bruce Grove. She made a note of the buses she needed to take... 121 to Turkey Street then 279 to Edmonton Police Station. It then gives multiple buses to Bruce Grove including a 349, 149, 259 THEN a 279!

She couldn’t work out that if the 279 went from Turkey Street to Bruce Grove why TFL’s Journey Planner had told her to change at Edmonton Police Station potentially onto ANOTHER 279!

It made me laugh out loud..... I knew EXACTLY why.... it turns a £1.50 journey into a £3 one! Kerching for TFL.

It’s just so sickeningly dishonest.

Chino

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

It made me laugh out loud..... I knew EXACTLY why.... it turns a £1.50 journey into a £3 one! Kerching for TFL.

I assume that you're unaware of TfL's "Hopper fare" - "Unlimited bus and tram journeys for the price of one"?
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/bus-and-tram#on-this-page-3

When I put the journey you describe into TfL's journey planner it confirms that the fare for the journey is £1.50.

Mr_Singleton

Chino wrote: »

When I put the journey you describe into TfL's journey planner it confirms that the fare for the journey is £1.50.

Do the same journey to arrive at Bruce Grove by 10am tomorrow morning.

By getting you to change and wait at Edmonton Police station it cleaverly (for TFL) takes you over the 1 hour hopper fare window thus enabling them to charge another £1.50

silvercar

Citymapper app will give you all the options, along with real time delays etc.

Kite2010

So basically it's TFL's fault there is a lot of traffic so your friend couldn't complete the first leg within 70 minutes to benefit from the hopper fare?


As for the bus routes, who knows the route 279 could go on a merry-go-round trip returning an hour or so later for the final leg, making it quicker to change?

Mr_Singleton

Kite2010 wrote: »

So basically it's TFL's fault there is a lot of traffic so your friend couldn't complete the first leg within 70 minutes to benefit from the hopper fare?


As for the bus routes, who knows the route 279 could go on a merry-go-round trip returning an hour or so later for the final leg, making it quicker to change?

You’re trying to defend the indefensible.... the first bus the 121 is a trip of 3 stops and 10 minutes (it’s a very walkable 1km) You then get on the only other available bus a 279 which takes you directly to your destination. As a point of interest it goes there directly down the main road (A1010) with no turn offs.

Yes, the entire journey does take more than 1 hour (despite only being 6.5 miles) so TFL have no doubt worked out that it is to there advantage to UNNECESSARYLY split the journey so they can double the fare.

With so many tourist and out of towners who don’t know any better TFL is blatantly conning people. I’ve noticed this with other fares which seem to offer routes/timing to maximise bus journeys outside the hopper fare range.

Will be very interested in your reply!

welshbookworm

Many years ago someone put the journey Marylebone Station to Baker Street Station into Journey planner and was sent by train out past Watford and back again!
It's actually a 10 minute walk!
TFL journey planner is a computer and does not have 'fuzzy logic' and does produce some very strange answers.

Mr_Singleton

welshbookworm wrote: »

TFL journey planner is a computer and does not have 'fuzzy logic' and does produce some very strange answers.

Yes, individually you can put this down to an erroneous answer BUT why is it every time you seem to come into contact with TFL they always seem to benefit from these things?

I regularly use Heathrow airport. It being a hub lots of people change flights and terminals. Not wanting to lug heavy suitcases down escalators to the tube they choose to use the bus. How many people know that using TFL buses to do this is free? Judging by the number of people I see being allowed to tap in I’m suspecting not many.... and I’m sure TFL is just fine with that as they’re making £100,000’s a year out of peoples ignorance. Yet get to about 3 stops from Hatton Cross (the end of the free zone) and all of a sudden the bus tannoy is threatening fines and prosecution for not having a ticket.

Yet another example of TFL laughing all the way to the bank.

Chino

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Do the same journey to arrive at Bruce Grove by 10am tomorrow morning.

That's exactly what I did.

Mr_Singleton

While in in the mood here’s another one....

During the recent summer heatwave my mate that stays in a hotel in Enfield decided to cycle to Cambridge one Friday evening. I decided to join him. Not wishing to ride an expensive carbon bike (S-Works Tarmac) through London Friday night rush hour I left the bike with him and took the tube after work.

I got on the tube at Green Park went to Seven Sisters where everyone was told that the train was terminating due to a signal failure. Got the bus to Tottenham Hale then a train to Enfield Lock. Looking, the cost of my journey should have been £5.10. Thought how lucky I was that I was using a TFL Oyster ‘smartcard’ in that it would calculate the correct fare. Unfortunately for me but VERY fortunate for TFL’s bank balance I actually got charged for 3 separate journeys and £7.60. Spoke to TFL about this and basically got a shrug and “tough hit!’ The Oyster SmartCard is smart when TFL want it to be yet dumb when it would require them to calculate a correct lower fare.

Looking at how many 1000’s of people that would have been affected by this through no fault of there own yet TFL can laugh all the way to the bank with the extra money it can make. “ No rush boys, take your time fixing the fault the extra cash is rolling in”

martindow

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Yes, individually you can put this down to an erroneous answer BUT why is it every time you seem to come into contact with TFL they always seem to benefit from these things?

I regularly use Heathrow airport. It being a hub lots of people change flights and terminals. Not wanting to lug heavy suitcases down escalators to the tube they choose to use the bus. How many people know that using TFL buses to do this is free? Judging by the number of people I see being allowed to tap in I’m suspecting not many.... and I’m sure TFL is just fine with that as they’re making £100,000’s a year out of peoples ignorance. Yet get to about 3 stops from Hatton Cross (the end of the free zone) and all of a sudden the bus tannoy is threatening fines and prosecution for not having a ticket.

Yet another example of TFL laughing all the way to the bank.

Are you complaining that travel between terminals is free at Heathrow? Of course if you go beyond the airport area you start being charged. I don't understand this post.