pg123 wrote:
It's too much to expect someone has to learn a
different set of rules for different stations, lines and modes of
transport.

What, two sets of rules? If it's a train, touch in/touch out, if it's a
bus or tram, touch in. Given the complexities of modern life anyone who
can operate a remote control should have no difficulty there. My five
year old manages it fine.

You touch in and out on trains but not on buses. What do I do
if I'm on the platform of a station without barriers and can't remember
if I touched in?

What about it? There's a very minor price to pay for the convenience,
and it's in actually learning the rather simple way the system operates.
I'd love that kind of problem at my local SWT station where I'm more
likely to be worrying if the ticket machine is working or if there's
sufficient time to get a ticket before the next train. The mere
requirement to remember to touch in is far less hassle.

And when I have to abort a journey due to "severe
delays", there is fat chance of getting my money back. The Oyster has
disadvantages as well as advantages.

No worthwhile improvement has no downsides. Railways themselves had
plenty of negative press in the early days, but after a while no one
talks seriously about the mortal dangers of a velocity of 30mph or more
being attained. Then there's the success of the underground despite the
original one being quite unpleasantly smoky. People put up with it and
it improved over time. The bendy bus debate is stuck in 2005 for the
same reason - in 2009 they're a settled, integral part of the transport
system. So are Oyster cards.

Tom