In article ,
() wrote:

CJG wrote:
Buses are slowed down so much with drivers getting change. And even

I strongly believe (based on personal observation) that most of the
delay to buses is actually tourists (etc) asking "does this bus go to
Harrods?" and so on, and if told no, entering into a debate about which
bus does. Or people asking the driver of Bus A where Bus B (being the
one they need) has got to, because there hasn't been one for ages.

Neither of these cases will be helped by cashless or fixed-fare buses.

I suspect the pay before boarding requirement will lose a lot of tourist
traffic. I know that I never used a bus in Warsaw because I couldn't find
anywhere to buy the right tickets with my limited Polish. The guides said
to use street kiosks but they seemed always to be shut. If you don't have
the exact money the new machines don't want to know you.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
() wrote:

CJG wrote:
Buses are slowed down so much with drivers getting change. And even

I strongly believe (based on personal observation) that most of the
delay to buses is actually tourists (etc) asking "does this bus go to
Harrods?" and so on, and if told no, entering into a debate about which
bus does. Or people asking the driver of Bus A where Bus B (being the
one they need) has got to, because there hasn't been one for ages.

Neither of these cases will be helped by cashless or fixed-fare buses.

I suspect the pay before boarding requirement will lose a lot of tourist
traffic. I know that I never used a bus in Warsaw because I couldn't find
anywhere to buy the right tickets with my limited Polish. The guides said
to use street kiosks but they seemed always to be shut. If you don't have
the exact money the new machines don't want to know you.

Exactly. Over the past few decades there was been a steady erosion in the
level of service provided by public transport, especially as regards getting
travel advice and buying tickets. I can remember the days (not that long
ago - I'm only 40) when all buses had conductors who would have change for
whatever money you tendered and would advise you on the best ticket to buy
("what's the best ticket(s) if I want to go from A to B to C to A?") or when
to catch the return bus (given that few bus stops have timetables on them).
Nowadays you have to buy your ticket from a machine that can't give change
or else from a driver who can't/won't give change. If you only have a note,
rather than coins, forget about trying to travel! Is this what's called
"progress"? "Progress" is evidently a vector quantity: it can be (and often
is) negative! Or at least, it is only positive as seen by the company,
rather than the customer.

In article m,
(Martin Underwood) wrote:

Nowadays you have to buy your ticket from a machine that can't give
change or else from a driver who can't/won't give change. If you only
have a note, rather than coins, forget about trying to travel! Is this
what's called "progress"? "Progress" is evidently a vector quantity: it
can be (and often is) negative! Or at least, it is only positive as seen
by the company, rather than the customer.

This is what seems most odd about the new policy in Central London. A lot
of the routes have Routemasters with conductors who are presumably not now
allowed to take fares. Stupid.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article m,
(Martin Underwood) wrote:

Nowadays you have to buy your ticket from a machine that can't give
change or else from a driver who can't/won't give change. If you only
have a note, rather than coins, forget about trying to travel! Is this
what's called "progress"? "Progress" is evidently a vector quantity: it
can be (and often is) negative! Or at least, it is only positive as seen
by the company, rather than the customer.

This is what seems most odd about the new policy in Central London. A lot
of the routes have Routemasters with conductors who are presumably not now
allowed to take fares. Stupid.

Conductors on RMs can still take fares.

In article ,
(Ed Crowley) wrote:

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article m,
(Martin Underwood) wrote:

Nowadays you have to buy your ticket from a machine that can't give
change or else from a driver who can't/won't give change. If you
only have a note, rather than coins, forget about trying to travel!
Is this what's called "progress"? "Progress" is evidently a vector
quantity: it can be (and often is) negative! Or at least, it is only
positive as seen by the company, rather than the customer.

This is what seems most odd about the new policy in Central London. A
lot of the routes have Routemasters with conductors who are presumably
not now allowed to take fares. Stupid.

Conductors on RMs can still take fares.

In Central London? It's not what the stops say or else some RM routes (7?)
have been converted in the last few days.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:20 +0100 (BST), (Colin
Rosenstiel) wrote:

This is what seems most odd about the new policy in Central London. A lot
of the routes have Routemasters with conductors who are presumably not now
allowed to take fares. Stupid.

They are, but I noticed, while in London last weekend, that the
Routemasters were now being delayed by people asking if they could
still pay on board or not...

I'd argue that allowing people with Travelcards, Savers[1] etc to
board at the rear while others buy their tickets would speed things up
much more than off-bus ticketing - but I agree the latter also makes
sense in very busy areas.

[1] Simply provide a locked box by the rear doors with a small slot in
which the Saver stub is posted. Inspectors would have a key, and
could retrieve the stubs in order to carry out the ticket check.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
is a valid email address, but is sent to /dev/null.
Try my first name at the above domain instead if you want to e-mail me.

They are, but I noticed, while in London last weekend, that the
Routemasters were now being delayed by people asking if they could
still pay on board or not...

My Bus the other day was delayed whilst a man was trying to use the Pay
Before you Board machine. Everyone (except him and pass holders) payed the
driver.
--
To reply direct, Remove NOSPAM and Replace with 21fun
For the latest News, Information and Photos check out
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On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 22:33:24 +0100 Joe Patrick
said...

My Bus the other day was delayed whilst a man was trying to use the Pay
Before you Board machine. Everyone (except him and pass holders) payed the
driver.

Was the "other day" on or after Saturday 23 August? If that's the case
drivers ought to be refusing to take cash at the relevant stops in zone 1
and directing ticketless passengers to the machines on the pavements.
Tough luck if the bus pulls away before people have got the chance to buy
their ticket.

On one of my local routes, W7, which has been cash free for nearly two
years now, drivers are quite ruthless. No ticket, no go, and quite often
or not the bus has pulled away before the passenger has got a ticket out
of the machine.

--
Phil Richards
London, N4