On 08/10/2014 20:32, Theo Markettos wrote:

Mizter T wrote:
Oyster Ticket Stops are all over the place - I'd be surprised to find a
parade of shops in Greater London that didn't have one. Most shops that
do Oyster normally advertise it on their exterior - for example, like this:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertoherrett/12678056684

I think the issue is you need a 'parade of shops', ie small shops with a
newsagent or similar. So I'm standing on The Mall facing Buckingham Palace.
Without looking it up, which direction should I go for a Ticket Stop?

Likewise it can sometimes be a bit 'water, water everywhere and not a drop
to drink'. I'm on Oxford Street, midway between Oxford Circus and Tottenham
Court Road stations, and I want to take a bus (of which there are many).
Again, without looking it up, where do I find a Ticket Stop? There are lots
of /shops/ but I'm not sure Next or American Apparel will help me.

The obvious solution in both cases (to me as a non-local) are 'walk 10 mins
to the nearest tube station', which works but means I'm now potentially 20
mins late.

There are quite a few which exist just off Oxford Street, though there's
a bit of a scarcity near the Mall and Buck House. But yes I quite accept
with your point - in central London, they're somewhat less obvious,
especially to a visitor.

Something that can help one out of a 'not enough money on my Oyster' fix
is the new 'one more journey' feature of Oyster (introduced shortly
before buses went cashless) - basically you can make one more journey
even if you don't have enough money on your Oyster (so currently £1.45),
you just need a positive balance or a zero balance:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/cash-free-buses#on-this-page-1

When one does this, the bus ticket machine spurts out a ticket with some
explanatory text.

Coming back to the earlier point of this thread, I agree with you that
auto-topup means one can neatly sidestep all such top-up worries. The
only point to make is that it's not for everyone - for instance, some
people's finances are incredibly finely balanced, and £20 being taken
from their bank account at an inopportune moment can lead to all sorts
of problems.