"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
I had a free morning on London on Tuesday so decided to bid a farewell
to RMs on the 36.

Some observations:

The conductress on the Southern section checked my ticket but northbound
I rode to Queen's Park without any check. Is it just the prospect of
losing their jobs that seems to be keeping conductors welded to the rear
platform now? This is in my experience a very recent phenomenon. My
main RM riding in on the 13 and there ticket checks are in my experience
100%. (See also my not in another thread about my ticket experience on
the 19!)


I get the 38 every day, so does my partner (at different times). In our
experience, tickets are checked infrequently - we use Oyster prepay and
estimate that something like 30% of our journeys are free. Last week I was
unable to pay until Wednesday evening!!

Conductors do seem reluctant to move away from the platform, especially to
go upstairs (unless it's to sit on the sideways seat to make a call on their
mobile...)

I'm not trying to get away with it either - after waiting a while I often
make a point of waving my Oyster at conductors. Sometimes they saunter down
to me, sometimes they dismiss me with a wave. Initially I tried stopping at
the platform on the way on or off, but they got annoyed (understandably).

Just my experience. I would MUCH prefer it if I (and everyone else) were
paying the fare!!

xx j