Ticket Office staff to be retained

In message <CQKak.206141$1B6.181530@newsfe21.ams2>, at 13:50:42 on Wed,
2 Jul 2008, Tom Barry <illia@blueyonder.co.uk> remarked:
>Roland Perry wrote:
>> In message <kvKdneoOULcX-_bVnZ2dnUVZ8qfinZ2d@bt.com>, at 12:25:56 on
>> From the BBC's earlier story, linked on that page:
>> "From March 2008, about 240 staff will be redeployed from
>>the
>> least busy stops to the busiest stations.
>> Although the massive queues at KX/StP presumably indicate that
>>rather
>> more than 3% of that station's passengers are buying tickets:
>> "Fewer than 3% of Tube journeys are now made on single and
>> return tickets, with Oyster accounting for more than 60% of all
>> trips, said TfL. "
>
>This presumably means that that transfer of staff to big stations like
>KXSP won't happen?

That's a guess, yes.

> KXSP presumably has a higher proportion of over-the-counter sales
>than, say, my local station Chiswick Park* (which was to have lost
>office staff) so presumably could have done with some more staff.
>Alternatively, did Boris promise to increase funding for staff to fill
>the gap?

They should increase the staffing at places like KX/StP regardless, in
order to provide an acceptable service to the public.

Why is it that only Post Offices and Railway Stations seem incapable of
taking money off people who are desperately thrusting it at them?
--
Roland Perry

In message <memo.20080702223728.3912M@cam002297.rosenstiel.co .uk>, at
22:37:00 on Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Colin Rosenstiel <rosenstiel@cix.co.uk>
remarked:
>> Why is it that only Post Offices and Railway Stations seem
>> incapable of taking money off people who are desperately thrusting
>> it at them?
>
>Cambridge station is a lot better on that score since you left.

Must be my patent "interrupter field", which ensures that no building,
in any town I'm in, can also contain more than three people selling
railway tickets or Post Office services :)
--
Roland Perry

In message <RfqdnYS4Jd-DDPHVnZ2dnUVZ8s3inZ2d@bt.com>, at 09:43:05 on
Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Paul Scott <notvalidpmscott@***************> remarked:
>>>> Why is it that only Post Offices and Railway Stations seem
>>>> incapable of taking money off people who are desperately thrusting
>>>> it at them?
>>>
>>>Cambridge station is a lot better on that score since you left.
>>
>> Must be my patent "interrupter field", which ensures that no building, in
>> any town I'm in, can also contain more than three people selling railway
>> tickets or Post Office services :)
>
>Is the 'close buffets early' mode a recent enhancement then?

I've only been using 'intercity' trains regularly for the last four
years, so I don't know. That force may have been with me for longer, but
lying idle.
--
Roland Perry

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:50:10 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

> From the BBC's earlier story, linked on that page:
>
> "From March 2008, about 240 staff will be redeployed from the
> least busy stops to the busiest stations.
>
> Although the massive queues at KX/StP presumably indicate that rather
> more than 3% of that station's passengers are buying tickets:
>
> "Fewer than 3% of Tube journeys are now made on single and
> return tickets, with Oyster accounting for more than 60% of all
> trips, said TfL. "

But ticket offices also perform Oyster transactions. So do the vending
machines, of course, but (unless this has been corrected in the past two
years) the vending machines refuse to accept overseas credit cards that
do not feature UK-style chip-and-PIN.

Last I checked, there was no warning of this fact at either the TfL
website (which indicates that credit cards are accepted) or the chip-and-
PIN website (which indicates that credit cards without chip-and-PIN will
be accepted in the UK, with no exception indicated for vending machines).

So a tourist from overseas may well find himself stranded with an empty
Oyster card and insufficient cash at a station without an open ticket
window, expecting to "top up" by credit card at the machine. (If the
problem with the machines cannot be corrected, there should at the very
least be a warning on the TfL website, with a list of affected stations
and, if relevant, the hours that the ticket windows are closed.)

In the US, many vending machines ask for the cardholder's ZIP code as a
security measure. However, the machines are generally intelligent enough
to skip that step for non-US-based cards.
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA

David of Broadway <david.of.broadway@**********> wrote in
news:njpuj5-utv.ln1@greenberger.no-ip.com:

> In the US, many vending machines ask for the cardholder's ZIP code as
> a security measure. However, the machines are generally intelligent
> enough to skip that step for non-US-based cards.

In my experience, in the last couple of years they have lost that
intelligence if they ever had it. Petrol/gas station pumps in particular
demand zip codes from me, as does an automated system I use by phone
(though I have found it will accept 11111).

Many US websites won't accept that anyone lives outside the US, so I
usually place London in Wyoming as it comes last on the list and could do
with a few more people in it. However, a quick Google shows that someone
is selling a house in 'London, Wyoming' which turns out to be in Ontario,
Canada so maybe I should choose another state next time.

PeterCS

---
pjcs00 [hosted by] gmail [full stop] com

On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:48:39 -0700, Paul Oter wrote:

> On Jul 3, 12:26 pm, David of Broadway <david.of.broad...@**********>
> wrote:
>>
>> In the US, many vending machines ask for the cardholder's ZIP code as a
>> security measure.  However, the machines are generally intelligent
>> enough to skip that step for non-US-based cards.
>
> That's not my experience at gas stations in California. I've always been
> asked for a zip code whenever I've tried to pay at the pump, despite
> having a UK card.

I stand corrected.

> It's a real pain having to leave my card with the cashier (or pre-pay a
> fixed amount) before I can fill up.

Indeed, but an inconvenient option is better than none. As I've posted
in the past, I almost got stranded at Edgware in 2006 because the ticket
office was closed and the machine wouldn't accept my credit card. And
when someone exiting the station handed me his Travelcard to try to get
me out of my bind, the agent at the gate refused to accept it, since
apparently Travelcards aren't transferable. (Here in New York, unlimited
MetroCards are transferable, as long as they're only in use by one person
at a time.)

(In the end, I did have cash, but I prefer to charge whenever possible,
especially while traveling, so I wasn't thrilled. If I hadn't had enough
cash to get me through the gates, I wonder if the agent would have
ultimately relented.)
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA