I wanted a Farringdon to Blackfriars Thameslink ticket today given the
broken tube. I already had a london terminals return ticket which
despite my local SWT station saying it is perfectly valid from
Farringdon, Im sure we all know it absolutely is not.

The best the machine could offer me was £4 single.

I would like to see better systems in place here. It cant possibly be
right. Presumably my PAYG oyster would have been max debited too if Id
got on a train to Wimbledon.

It seems broken to me.

mf

On 27 Sep, 21:48, Mystery Flyer wrote:
I wanted a Farringdon to Blackfriars Thameslink ticket today given the
broken tube. I already had a london terminals return ticket which
despite my local SWT station saying it is perfectly valid from
Farringdon, Im sure we all know it absolutely is not.

The best the machine could offer me was £4 single.

National Rail quotes £1.80 - I suggest you may have go this ticket if
you'd gone to the ticket office rather than the machine.


I would like to see better systems in place here. It cant possibly be
right. Presumably my PAYG oyster would have been max debited too if Id
got on a train to Wimbledon.

If you just touched-in at Farringdon then you would've got the £4 max
fare. If you'd touched-in at Farringdon and then out at Wimbledon the
system would've presumed you made the journey by Underground all the
way and you'd have been charged £2.50 (M-F 7am to 7pm) or £2.

AFAICS this would've been quasi-legit, as Oyster PAYG would've covered
you for Farringdon to Blackfriars whilst your London Terminals to
Wimbledon would've covered you for the rest of the journey.

You would however be making a £1 or 50p donation to TfL, as the Oyster
PAYG fare from Farrington to Blackfriars is £1.50 (at any time).

The other alternative would've been to disembark at Blackfriars and
touch-out there - as it's an interchange station (between FCC
Thameslink and Southeastern services) there are Oyster readers on the
platforms so you wouldn't have to go out through the gateline then
back in again, and thus may even be able to get back on the same
train.


It seems broken to me.

mf

Ask at the Farringdon ticket office for a single to Blackfriars - if
they can sell you one it's only half-broken in that the ticket machine
can't sell you one.

Michael Hoffman wrote:
Barry Salter wrote:

I bought an NSE-discounted Travelcard there once, and the clerk issued
it as a Y-P one, and refused to reissue it correctly, saying "Well the
discount's the same, so it's okay", or words to that effect!

So what did you do?

Got it exchanged for the correct ticket at Liverpool Street, who sighed
sympathetically, as the clerk at the station in question was completely
clueless, to the extent that I got a letter from WAGN confirming that
there was an easement allowing Off-Peak Travelcards and Cheap Day
Returns on the 09:26 train, as she was refusing to sell them before
09:30 (next train being at 09:41 at the time).

Cheers,

Barry

Mizter T wrote:
On 27 Sep, 21:48, Mystery Flyer wrote:
I wanted a Farringdon to Blackfriars Thameslink ticket today given the
broken tube. I already had a london terminals return ticket which
despite my local SWT station saying it is perfectly valid from
Farringdon, Im sure we all know it absolutely is not.

The best the machine could offer me was £4 single.

National Rail quotes £1.80 - I suggest you may have go this ticket if
you'd gone to the ticket office rather than the machine.

I will try that, but the queue was immense, and therefore I thought the
machines would help (having been reading this thread)...

If you just touched-in at Farringdon then you would've got the £4 max
fare. If you'd touched-in at Farringdon and then out at Wimbledon the
system would've presumed you made the journey by Underground all the
way and you'd have been charged £2.50 (M-F 7am to 7pm) or £2.

AFAICS this would've been quasi-legit, as Oyster PAYG would've covered
you for Farringdon to Blackfriars whilst your London Terminals to
Wimbledon would've covered you for the rest of the journey.

That would have been quasi OK by me. I have to change trains at
Wimbledon anyway. Bt Im not sure where you touch out - I think you
probably have to walk the length of the station from the Thameslink to
the District then back again. (another opportunity to miss a connection)

You would however be making a £1 or 50p donation to TfL, as the Oyster
PAYG fare from Farrington to Blackfriars is £1.50 (at any time).

I dont want to give any unnecessary money to TfL

...disembark at Blackfriars and
touch-out there - as it's an interchange station ... there are Oyster readers on the
platforms so you wouldn't have to go out through the gateline then
back in again, and thus may even be able to get back on the same
train.

An interesting idea. In the rush hour its difficult to get onto and off
the trains. It cant be the right customer flow to disembark to validate
then re-embark for the same train or waste 30 minutes waiting for
precisely the same train to come again once you have accomplished the
bureacracy required to pay the minimum fare.

I would have to learn the optimum carriage for the dash to the touch
out, lose my seat, and dash back before the doors close.

Thats a great step forward.

I will research the oyster readers location and try it next time and
report back :-)

Ask at the Farringdon ticket office for a single to Blackfriars - if
they can sell you one it's only half-broken in that the ticket machine
can't sell you one.


Three quarters broken I concede :-)

mf

I thought this may be interesting to you. I sure am happy that some
people higher up are starting to see the light.

Kelly's rail tickets pledge
By Staff Reporter

Rail tickets will be made simpler and easier to use so people get the
right one at the right price, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly pledged
today.

The move comes as Which? magazine reported that poor advice about
fares means some passengers are paying well over the odds.

Proposals for simplified fares were first outlined in the Government's
rail white paper, including four clear categories for fares and an
industry price promise to offer the cheapest fare or refund the
difference.
Ms Kelly told Labour's Bournemouth conference today: "I will make sure
that tickets will be simpler and easy to use and people can be
confident they are getting the right ticket at the right price."
She promised to give councils stronger powers over bus services which
she conceded were "not good enough" in many areas.

Ms Kelly, who is leaving the conference by train rather than
ministerial car, said travel patterns must change, warning: "We simply
can't build our way out of road congestion, so let us have the debate
on road pricing."
And she derided David Cameron's eco-credentials, telling delegates the
Tory leader was "desperately trying to appeal to everyone and finding
he is increasingly appealing to no one".
Mr Cameron had no clear values or vision, she argued, adding: "We
reject the Tories' false choice - that as a nation we can either be
'rich and dirty' or 'poor and green'.
"This isn't an either/or question. We don't have to choose between
tackling global warming and supporting economic growth."
Tackling climate change was the "real pro-growth strategy", Ms Kelly
said.
"This means giving people the right incentives to make greener
choices.
"Enabling individuals to choose how to reduce their own carbon
footprint.
"Not telling them, as the Tories do, that they can't take cheap breaks
- that flying should once again be the preserve of a privileged
elite."

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:59:20 -0700, wrote:

On the other hand, I discovered recently that Warren
Street tube station can issue a ticket to Stansted Airport.

But not a return ticket where the return journey isn't being made on
the same day, and you won't get a Railcard discount.

asdf wrote

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:59:20 -0700, wrote:

On the other hand, I discovered recently that Warren
Street tube station can issue a ticket to Stansted Airport.

But not a return ticket where the return journey isn't being made on
the same day, and you won't get a Railcard discount.

Since the journey is in the South East and less than 50 miles no ticket
office sells 'not same day' return tickets and hasn't for twenty years.
My local NR ticket office was happy to sell me two (out/back) singles,
dated for different days.

Do travel agents give Railcard discounts ?

--
Mike

On 29 Sep 2007 23:03:03 GMT, Michael R N Dolbear wrote:

On the other hand, I discovered recently that Warren
Street tube station can issue a ticket to Stansted Airport.

But not a return ticket where the return journey isn't being made on
the same day, and you won't get a Railcard discount.

Since the journey is in the South East and less than 50 miles no ticket
office sells 'not same day' return tickets and hasn't for twenty years.
My local NR ticket office was happy to sell me two (out/back) singles,
dated for different days.

Since there is a Standard Open Return listed in the fares manual, the
ticket office at Liverpool Street will quite happily sell you a 'not
same day' return to Stansted (or the office at Stansted one to Warren
Street).

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:12:57 -0700, Mizter T wrote:

The other alternative would've been to disembark at Blackfriars and
touch-out there - as it's an interchange station (between FCC
Thameslink and Southeastern services) there are Oyster readers on the
platforms so you wouldn't have to go out through the gateline then
back in again, and thus may even be able to get back on the same
train.

Are you sure? A couple of months ago, I tried to use PAYG on FCC at
Blackfriars. The new NR gates there, although left open, would not
accept my PAYG Oyster. In fact, despite having a good hunt around, I
could not find anywhere to touch in/out at all. (It didn't occur to me
to head over to the Southeastern platforms and look there, though.)

On 29 Sep 2007 23:03:03 GMT, "Michael R N Dolbear"
wrote:

Since the journey is in the South East and less than 50 miles no ticket
office sells 'not same day' return tickets and hasn't for twenty years.

Not necessarily. There exist period return tickets to Luton, Gatwick
and Stansted from a lot of places where they wouldn't otherwise exist.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.