On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:36:23 +0100, tim.....
wrote:


"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message op.uxbfszjym4iaeb@dell, at 14:01:37 on Sun, 19 Jul 2009,
Fig
remarked:
Tomorrow, Monday, I intend to accompany Mrs Fig to Luton airport,
leaving
home at 7:00 am.

Is there any way of finding out, in advance, how much a return from
Ruislip to Luton Parkway is?

Buy a ticket to Luton Airport, otherwise you'll have to also pay for the
shuttle bus.

Won't he still have to pay for the bus, just not as a separate
transaction?

But anyway, the last time I tried this I asked for the ticket that
includes
the bus. The guy played around with his machine and eventually said,
"Nope,
I can't issue you a ticket that includes the bus" and issued me with a
ticket to LAP.

At LAP on the way out I paid a man with a ticket machine as I got on (the
bus). On the way back no-one was collecting fares so I got a free ride!

So ... what actually happened:

Can't remember the exact fares, but I worked out that travelling from
Ruislip to Luton Apt on 2 separate tickets (PAYG Ruislip - W Hampstead & W
Hampstead - Luton Apt FCC) is cheaper, at least during LU peak, than a
through ticket.
When we got to W Hampstead TL, the machine was accepting 'exact money
only', so I went into the ticket hall and joined one of 2 queues. A
passenger at the front of the other queue asked for a ticket to Luton
Airport Parkway. "Are you sure you don't want a ticket to the airport?",
asks the clerk. "No, just the Parkway today please". "Certainly madam."
'Knockout', I thought to myself. I know I want a ticket to the airport
(thanks Roland) but it's good to know that the FCC ticket clerks are all
over it and appear to be on the ball anyway. So when I get to the front of
my queue, I clearly state "One day return and one single to Luton AIRPORT,
please". Clerk tells me the price, I hand him money, he hands me tickets
and we're on our way. Only after we get on the train do I realise he's
sold me tickets to the Parkway! Sheesh.
So, we get out of the station (ticket barriers swallowed our train
tickets) and join the queue for the bus. There's a fella selling bus
tickets. "One single and one return please", and the fella actually says
to me, "I'll sell you 2 singles, there probably won't be anyone selling
tickets on the way back so you'll get a free ride"! He was right.

One other strange thing; I noticed a sign on the wall by the bus stop at
the station showing the fares. Apparently it's £1.50 single £3.00 return
but £1 and £2 respectively for train passengers. Luckily the fella only
asked for £2 for the 2 tickets, but had there been a different fella
there, how is one supposed to prove one travelled by train if the barrier
has just eaten your ticket? I should imagine a lot of peeps travel to the
airport on a single ticket.

--
Fig

In message op.uxqvk7uem4iaeb@dell, at 22:06:33 on Mon, 27 Jul 2009,
Fig remarked:
One other strange thing; I noticed a sign on the wall by the bus stop
at the station showing the fares. Apparently it's £1.50 single £3.00
return but £1 and £2 respectively for train passengers. Luckily the
fella only asked for £2 for the 2 tickets, but had there been a
different fella there, how is one supposed to prove one travelled by
train if the barrier has just eaten your ticket? I should imagine a
lot of peeps travel to the airport on a single ticket.

I doubt that more than 1:100 of the pax taking the bus to the airport
have just parked their car at the station, which is about the only other
way to "arrive" there.
--
Roland Perry