On Nov 24, 9:25*pm, "
wrote:

On 24/11/2010 07:49, Paul wrote:
[...]*If you use a Oyster card to make a PAYG journey on a
bus, does it show you the remaining balance just as it does on the
tube?

Yes.

Although not spectacularly clearly (the LCD display isn't backlit or
anything) - the advice of Mr Thant, formerly of this parish, was to
focus your eyes on the display before touching-in - alternatively my
advice is to get on the bus last, which gives you a bit more time to
look at the display. On bendy buses (and the 507 and 521 'Red Arrows')
it's easier as the Oyster reader devices have large and easy to view
screens.

One thing that was lost in shops (ahem, I mean 'Oyster Ticket Stops')
when the old Pass agent machines (which printed tickets) were
decommissioned in favour of the new Pearl devices was the ability for
customers to actually see a display of how much PAYG credit was on
their Oyster cards (plus also the type and expiry date of any season
ticket) - see:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/resources/corp...ter-card-3.jpg
or via http://tinyurl.com/old-Pass-Agent-terminal

Now if a customer wants to know this, shopkeepers have to read their
small display on their small EPOS type device and tell the customer
what it is verbally, which all takes a bit longer and also requires
the attention of the shopkeeper.

On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:18:16 +0000, David Walters
wrote:

If you have auto top-up you have a registered card so there are no risks
of losing it, apart from a lengthy telephone call. Unless you can report
a lost card via the website?

I reported a lost card (from 2004 - sniff, worth a fortune now?
probably not) on the website on a Friday. Replacement arrived the
following Tuesday all the way from Aberdeen, nicely topped up.

I do hate this uncontrolled auto-topup though. We should be able in
2010 to set the trigger and quantity levels via this web thingymabob.
One size does not fit all.

--
Old anti-spam address cmylod at despammed dot com appears broke
So back to cmylod at bigfoot dot com

In article ,
Colum Mylod wrote:
I do hate this uncontrolled auto-topup though. We should be able in
2010 to set the trigger and quantity levels via this web thingymabob.
One size does not fit all.

My guess is that it is just a single bit on the Oyster card, so one
size must indeed fit all. Or actually two sizes, namely auto top-up
enabled, or auto top-up disabled.

-roy

On Nov 25, 9:09*pm, (Roy Badami) wrote:

In article ,
Colum Mylod wrote:

I do hate this uncontrolled auto-topup though. We should be able in
2010 to set the trigger and quantity levels via this web thingymabob.
One size does not fit all.

My guess is that it is just a single bit on the Oyster card, so one
size must indeed fit all. *Or actually two sizes, namely auto top-up
enabled, or auto top-up disabled.

Well, auto top-up by £20, or auto top-up by £40.

In article ,
Mizter T wrote:
My guess is that it is just a single bit on the Oyster card, so one
size must indeed fit all. *Or actually two sizes, namely auto top-up
enabled, or auto top-up disabled.

Well, auto top-up by £20, or auto top-up by £40.

Yeah, I realised that after I posted. So there are three states (off,
20 quid or 40 quid). If we assume there must therefore be at least
two bits coding the state, that means that it would be possible to
support at least four states.

-roy

On Nov 25, 11:21*pm, (Roy Badami) wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

My guess is that it is just a single bit on the Oyster card, so one
size must indeed fit all. *Or actually two sizes, namely auto top-up
enabled, or auto top-up disabled.

Well, auto top-up by £20, or auto top-up by £40.

Yeah, I realised that after I posted. *So there are three states (off,
20 quid or 40 quid). *If we assume there must therefore be at least
two bits coding the state, that means that it would be possible to
support at least four states.


Random bonanza - top up with an annual all-zones Travelcard whenever
it runs out?

On Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:57:08 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote:


On Nov 25, 11:21*pm, (Roy Badami) wrote:
....
Yeah, I realised that after I posted. *So there are three states (off,
20 quid or 40 quid). *If we assume there must therefore be at least
two bits coding the state, that means that it would be possible to
support at least four states.


Random bonanza - top up with an annual all-zones Travelcard whenever
it runs out?

See you and raise you a future "annual 1st class + replacement
Borisbike".
--
Old anti-spam address cmylod at despammed dot com appears broke
So back to cmylod at bigfoot dot com

On Nov 24, 7:49*am, Paul wrote:
On Nov 23, 5:54*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:



On Tue, 23 Nov 2010 06:16:48 -0800 (PST), Paul
wrote:

It might not be a bad idea though. There are regular problems on the
buses where I live (Walthamstow) where people with Oyster PAYG touch
in with insufficient credit. When the bus driver explains that they
don't have enough credit and will either have to pay cash or get off,
some of them pretend not to understand and ask the driver whether they
can travel for nothing, as it is 6am and they have to get to work.
This causes delays which tends to p**s everyone off.

I don't know if there is an easy solution to this issue though.

The easy solution is that people stop taking the **** and make sure
there is enough value on their cards. This is a standard "dodge" that
some people play in order to get their bus rides for free. I have seen
it so many times and the weary response from drivers suggests it is a
regular routine from the same old faces.

You would also be amazed at the number of people who go to a machine and
load just enough for the journey they are about to make. I recognise
some people are on tight budgets and cashflow is everything but I was
still surprised when I saw this recently.

--
Paul C

Exactly, I can imagine the response from a New York bus driver if I
said that I had failed to top up my pay per ride Metrocard. * Also, it
is amazing how many of these people suddenly lose the ability to speak
English when the bus driver tells them they have to pay, or proffer a
£20 note, and then start arguing when the bus driver says they don't
have any change. *If you use a Oyster card to make a PAYG journey on a
bus, does it show you the remaining balance just as it does on the
tube?

Yes, but it's sometimes difficult to see due to reflections from the
perspex screen on some buses. On other buses the screen is cut away
around the ticket machine, so you can see the display clearly.

I've noticed something very odd in New York. There seems to be much
discussion among the locals as to how much they should put on a
Metrocard to get an exact number of rides from the resulting value on
the card, including any bonus they may get. They end up with all
sorts of odd values to do this. It's a fairly frequent subject in
places like nyc.transit. I've never been able to get a reasonable-
sounding answer as to what the problem is with having an amount less
than the cost of one ride left on the card; you don't lose it, it's
added to whatever value you next put on the card, but this seems to be
a major issue for some New Yorkers.