Bus and tube fares to rise :(

[nino_savatte]

Hmm I dunno! I always thought the oyster cards werent able to be used in rail stations my local station had big posters up saying they couldnt

It's only pre pay they refuse to accept. I know, I got stung at Clapham Junction after taking the train from Kensington Olympia and they forced me to pay the full single fare.

 

[nino_savatte]

so it happens every year...regardless. Do you not think that fares should go up? Are you upset that theyve gone up or are you upset about the amount theyve gone up by?

No, I do not think it is necessary to put fares up each year. The service is no better and the increases are probably being used to sweeten the shareholders. I don't think the Paris Metro increases its fares annually nor do any other countries I can think of. Why do we have to put up with this? The privatised companies say "it's to pay for improvements" but what happened to their government subsidies?

 

[lighterthief]

Until increases are sneaked past you that is.

Prices increases could/would/have/will be sneaked through irrespective of whether your ticket is made of paper or plastic - although I agree, we will need to be more vigilant now.

I would imagine that with more and more people using Oystercards now the various passenger action groups will be keeping a keen eye on developments.

 

[kea]

monthly/weekly/daily travelcards on oysters are accepted on mainline rail services in london. pay-as-you-go isn't.
sorry if someone else said this and i missed it, btw

 

[Kameron]

We do have incredibly expensive tubes but fortunately we can feel good about that because we have the best paid tube drivers and station staff in the world as well.

Does anyone now if any of the PFI TLF companies are making any money btw, I just thought they had profits warning all over the place and were just about to go bust. Constantly propped up by govt of course both for a staggering wage bill and unbelievable insurance costs.

It's only pre pay they refuse to accept. I know, I got stung at Clapham Junction after taking the train from Kensington Olympia and they forced me to pay the full single fare.

Better than that assuming that you were intending to pay with Oyster Pre-pay you would have touched in at Olympia, because when you lighted you didn't touch out I understand the plan is to charge you the maximum possible fare you could have taken on the tube network though I don't know if this is currently operational. If on the other hand you didn't touch in you were fare evading which while perfectly acceptable doesn't give you the right to be pissed off as well.

I think you should get over it, the tube gets me to work on time 9 mornings out of 10 and even when its late it isn't that bigger deal. I like the tube, it gets me where I want to go at least twice every day and sometimes many more times.

 

[nino_savatte]

Do you propose eveyrone walks to work then?

No, how about a mass non-payment of fares...oh, I forget we don't do that sort of thing...we just gripe about it and pay up.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

No, how about a mass non-payment of fares...

Perhaps I'm being really stupid here but how would that work?

 

[nino_savatte]

We do have incredibly expensive tubes but fortunately we can feel good about that because we have the best paid tube drivers and station staff in the world as well.

Does anyone now if any of the PFI TLF companies are making any money btw, I just thought they had profits warning all over the place and were just about to go bust. Constantly propped up by govt of course both for a staggering wage bill and unbelievable insurance costs.

Better than that assuming that you were intending to pay with Oyster Pre-pay you would have touched in at Olympia, because when you lighted you didn't touch out I understand the plan is to charge you the maximum possible fare you could have taken on the tube network though I don't know if this is currently operational. If on the other hand you didn't touch in you were fare evading which while perfectly acceptable doesn't give you the right to be pissed off as well.

I think you should get over it, the tube gets me to work on time 9 mornings out of 10 and even when its late it isn't that bigger deal. I like the tube, it gets me where I want to go at least twice every day and sometimes many more times.

There are no card readers of any description at Olympia.

"Get over it"? Not likely...no wonder we get shafted by every single gov't when attitudes like that persist.

 

[nino_savatte]

Perhaps I'm being really stupid here but how would that work?

That needs to be discussed. I merely suggested it. But what sort of action would you advocate?

Wasn't there a fares boycott in Sydney recently?

 

[Mrs Miggins]

That needs to be discussed. I merely suggested it. But what sort of action would you advocate?

Wasn't there a fares boycott in Sydney recently?

I have no idea. Quick Google threw up something about a Fare-free day but that's a bit different.

I'm just trying to understand what you mean by "organise a mass boycott" against fare increases.

 

[geminisnake]

Nope, i dont think so, he is currently triaining to be a bus driver and they were told that there will be no cash fares accepted on any routes.

Not even the 69??

How the hell are people who have just flown into City airport meant to get anywhere then??

I'm not paying for a black cab or £3 for the shuttle!! (I do tend to by a zone card but others might not know to do that)

 

[Callie]

If the bus is red (and in the vicinity of London) you'll be asked to buy a ticket before your board. You don't HAVE to buy an oyster card.

 

[Callie]

Are you one of the "thousands" who travel for free on the buses?
Are you asking if im underage?

Under 16's may get free bus travel but those who are unemployed get nothing.
Why should they get free travel? should they get other stuff for free? disabled people get a free bus pass dont they?

In many other cities in Britain, concessionary travel schemes exist for the unemployed. Thats nice

Im not sure what you mean when you ask if I travel for free? im not a ticket tout

 

[Badgers]

I pay £82.00 per month for a zones 1&2 travel card on Oyster and use it for 5-6 trips a day in the week and at least 3-4 a day at weekends.

I find it quick and easy to use and only need to visit the machine/counter once a month.

I have to admit that the fare increases are a bit of a pisstake though.......

1. Congestion charge introduced for one part of London at £5 per day. Money is planned to improve public transport. Promise of no fare increases on public transport.

2. Prices go up on public transport

3. Congestion charge goes up to £8 per day

4. Congestion charge zone to be doubled in size

5. Prices go up on public transport

 

[nino_savatte]

I have no idea. Quick Google threw up something about a Fare-free day but that's a bit different.

I'm just trying to understand what you mean by "organise a mass boycott" against fare increases.

It's probably easy for a mass fare dodge on the rail network since barriers are non-existent. The tube is a trickier prospect but something needs to happen.

 

[nino_savatte]

Im not sure what you mean when you ask if I travel for free? im not a ticket tout

I wasn't suggesting under 16's shouldn't get free travel. Please don't put words into my mouth.

Why should they get free travel? should they get other stuff for free? disabled people get a free bus pass dont they

Perhaps you'll understand all this when you're old enough.

 

[guinnessdrinker]

Do you propose eveyrone walks to work then?

have you heard of a wonderful piece of modern technology called a bicycle?

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

So rip-off Britain advances ever further. Fares only went up to £1.20 about three weeks ago, didn't they? FFS.

 

[guinnessdrinker]

So rip-off Britain advances ever further. Fares only went up to £1.20 about three weeks ago, didn't they? FFS.

70p outside central london, 2 years ago, soon more than doubled

 

[Callie]

I wasn't suggesting under 16's shouldn't get free travel. Please don't put words into my mouth.



Perhaps you'll understand all this when you're old enough.

double post

 

[Callie]

I wasn't suggesting under 16's shouldn't get free travel. Please don't put words into my mouth.



Perhaps you'll understand all this when you're old enough.

Im not under 16

 

[geminisnake]

If the bus is red (and in the vicinity of London) you'll be asked to buy a ticket before your board. You don't HAVE to buy an oyster card.

But my point is how are people supposed to know that if they are not locals or not used to travelling in London?

Though the shuttle bus people will probably be happy.

 

[Callie]

How are people supposed to know that they currently buy a ticket on the bus? you just find out as you go along, probably.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

have you heard of a wonderful piece of modern technology called a bicycle?

Yes and I have one thank you

 

[nino_savatte]

Im not under 16

Jolly good....next?

 

[nino_savatte]

So rip-off Britain advances ever further. Fares only went up to £1.20 about three weeks ago, didn't they? FFS.

Do you remember back in 1997 when the government claimed it was going to tackle "Rip off Britain"...all because some minister got shafted on a holiday deal? Nothing ever came of it of course, I wonder why (he asked rhetorically)?

 

[beeboo]

As the single fare for Oyster pre-pay is actually going DOWN, I imagine that the in terms of single tube fares, the fare increases are going to be revenue neutral or actually reduce revenue, as more people take up Oyster pre-pay, and existing pre-pay users pay less.

Obviously all the headlines are just ‘50% price hikes’ and the detail gets los.
I’m all in favour of Oystercards and don’t mind that paper tickets cost more, however they need to be making it easier to use Oyster, not just making the pricing for paper tickets ridiculously high (which is unfair on those people for whom Oyster is not practical – eg if you are a visitor making a connecting journey between two train stations).

They say that this is supposed to help save time and reduce congestion at rush hours, but at any tube station you will now see a big queue in front of the one or two card machines with Oyster readers and credit card facilities and the paper ticket machines standing unused.

A better incentive to use Oyster would be to replace all the paper-ticket machines with Oyster readers. This is going to have to be done soon anyway!

High priorities should also be:

- get National Rail stations issuing Oyster cards, at least for travelcards, if not pre-pay

- sort out the situation where travelcards bought online can only be uploaded from one nominated tube station, which makes it very difficult for people with irregular journeys to pick up travelcards.

 

[geminisnake]

How are people supposed to know that they currently buy a ticket on the bus? you just find out as you go along, probably.

Coz that's what you do everywhere else that I know of. All over the UK you get on a bus and pay your fare.

 

[the B]

Thought the purpose of the new price scheme was to basically make tourists and very occassional users/the disorganised pay more.

Revenue added is meant to be £80 million a year.

I'm not sure the pissing and moaning is quite as justified given that prices are on the whole falling for those who have a oyster... still, why not just lower fares across the board

 

[beeboo]

Nice to see the Evening Standard were getting full value for money out of this by having separate stories taking both the “Massive Tube Fare Increase!!!” and “Fares Crisis - New discounts not available to all!!” angles.

For the second story, they’d managed to find some idiots at Waterloo Station who were convinced that because they out in the stockbroker belt and they couldn’t buy an Oystercard at their local station, they wouldn’t be able to benefit from the cheaper pre-pay tickets.

Well, duh, either you’re using a travelcard, which works out cheaper than pre-pay anyway, or if you’ve got a rail season ticket, go to a tube station get yourself an Oystercard and some pre-pay.

FFS, you can even do it all online and get your pre-pay topped up automatically, how much easier do you want it to be?!