It seems that I can add credit to it (or at least I didn't get to a point
where it rejected this request)

but as I have to go to a specified station to "activate" that addition, this
seems a pointless thing to do given that I can add credit at a station from
the machines without the hassle of nominating a station first

As a one off, I agree. Auto top-up, OTOH, avoids having to worry about
running out of credit. Which can be a bit of a problem if you've just
boarded a bendy bus. (Not happened to me, but people have been
prosecuted for inadvertently running out of credit on a bendy bus.)

-roy

On Sep 7, 11:26*pm, Roy Badami wrote:

It seems that I can add credit to it (or at least I didn't get to a point
where it rejected this request)

but as I have to go to a specified station to "activate" that addition, this
seems a pointless thing to do given that I can add credit at a station from
the machines without the hassle of nominating a station first

As a one off, I agree. *Auto top-up, OTOH, avoids having to worry about
running out of credit. *Which can be a bit of a problem if you've just
boarded a bendy bus. *(Not happened to me, but people have been
prosecuted for inadvertently running out of credit on a bendy bus.)

Well, that's their defence at least...

As a one off, I agree. Auto top-up, OTOH, avoids having to worry about
running out of credit. Which can be a bit of a problem if you've just
boarded a bendy bus. (Not happened to me, but people have been
prosecuted for inadvertently running out of credit on a bendy bus.)

Well, that's their defence at least...

Well, if they're going to have a policy of ignoring the penalty fares
system and simply prosecuting at first offence (which it appears to me
that from time to time they do) then running out of credit is rather risky.

"Roy Badami" wrote in message
...

It seems that I can add credit to it (or at least I didn't get to a point
where it rejected this request)

but as I have to go to a specified station to "activate" that addition,
this
seems a pointless thing to do given that I can add credit at a station
from
the machines without the hassle of nominating a station first

As a one off, I agree. Auto top-up, OTOH, avoids having to worry about
running out of credit. Which can be a bit of a problem if you've just
boarded a bendy bus. (Not happened to me, but people have been prosecuted
for inadvertently running out of credit on a bendy bus.)

How can you run out of credit "on" the bus?

tim

On 08/09/10 12:57, tim.... wrote:

How can you run out of credit "on" the bus?

Well, you can discover that you've run out of credit after you've
boarded and the bus has already departed.

On a bendy bus, you board the bus and then use one of the Oyster readers
inside the bus to validate your card - by which time the bus has already
departed.

-roy

On Sep 8, 12:50*am, Roy Badami wrote:

As a one off, I agree. *Auto top-up, OTOH, avoids having to worry about
running out of credit. *Which can be a bit of a problem if you've just
boarded a bendy bus. *(Not happened to me, but people have been
prosecuted for inadvertently running out of credit on a bendy bus.)

Well, that's their defence at least...

Well, if they're going to have a policy of ignoring the penalty fares
system and simply prosecuting at first offence (which it appears to me
that from time to time they do) then running out of credit is rather risky.

All I was suggesting was that the defence of 'I unwittingly ran out of
credit' being presented is probably far more common than of it
actually happening.

(Observe people getting on a bendy bus, attempting to touch-in,
realising they've not got enough credit, shrugging their shoulders and
settling down into a seat. Or even just boarding and not making any
attempt to touch-in, but if inspected presenting their credit-less
Oyster card and claiming they thought they'd touched in. Or numerous
variants thereof. I've got on a bendy bus and realised on boarding
that I was out of credit, so just alighted at the next stop.)

On 08/09/10 14:47, Mizter T wrote:

On Sep 8, 12:50 am, Roy wrote:

All I was suggesting was that the defence of 'I unwittingly ran out of
credit' being presented is probably far more common than of it
actually happening.

Yeah, I'm sure it is. What I find unnerving is the (recent?) practice
of prosecuting a first offence. I had always understood, perhaps
incorrectly, that prosecution was traditionally used as a means of
dealing with repeat offenders.

-roy