Have you used the tube of late? I had to use it back in April/May, and it was four quid from Paddington to Liverpool Street! Someone there has clearly seen the potential of a fleece-the- suckers-who-have-to-make-connections racket.
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Don't through tickets exist any more? I thought if you bought a train ticket that involved a London connection, a journey via tube was included.
They do. I think they have + symbol on them to indicate through-London validity.
Those passengers for whom stairs might be a problem sit downstairs. Meanwhile, those who want the best views can sit upstairs. It's called "choice".
Buses with so many free seats you get a choice? That's called luxury.
But doesn't it discriminate against the disabled that they don't get such good views? There's laws against that kind of thing you know. The bus operators should fit stair lifts.
In news:[email hidden], Ekul Namsob <[email hidden]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:
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Is it fair to say that the buses are unsuited to London's streets or are they inherently dangerous? Much of Europe seems to cope with the things successfully.
I think it's because they tend to be driven by people expelled from Swindon for the crime of being too thick. They have a gert big sign on the back, saying "this bus is 18 metres long".
In news:[email hidden], Paul Boyd <[email hidden]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:
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Anyway, just in case I ever do visit London (once in a blue moon), I'll bear this in mind, or use the underground!
Make sure you have a Lobstercard before you do, though, or else King Ken will hoover up the contents of your wallet for the privet hedge of being treated like a veal.
In Central London, you MUST have a ticket before boading as the driver will NOT sell you one.
Is all this blindingly obvious to visitors to London? Not that I catch buses very often, but most people are used to just hopping on a bus, paying and going!
That may be the case in Britain. In many parts of the world, one is expected to buy a ticket before boarding.
Have you used the tube of late? I had to use it back in April/May, and it was four quid from Paddington to Liverpool Street! Someone there has clearly seen the potential of a fleece-the- suckers-who-have-to-make-connections racket.
Don't through tickets exist any more? I thought if you bought a train ticket that involved a London connection, a journey via tube was included.
If both train journeys are domestic, then yes.
If not, you're into the hassle of multiple bookings, and (I suspect) destructive UK competition law[1] that makes it a serious problem for vendors to cooperate.
In this instance, one ticket was the sleeper train in to London, and the other was from dutchflyer.co.uk taking me on to Amsterdam via what is now a very pleasant ferry crossing. Neither included a tube fare. And that was hassle enough to book *at all* - see http://bahumbug.wordpress.com/2007/03/31/non-air-travel/ for a rant on why flying is so much easier for very bad reasons.
[1] I infer it's UK from the fact that joined-up-tickets seem to be uniquely problematic in the UK.
Of course, that will only help in London. How do they cope with bendybuses on the continent where they came from in the first place?
They don't use them in towns with thousand-year-old road plans and narrow streets?
-- After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs [...] You ride through Dreamland on wonderful dream bicycles that change and grow. -- H. G. Wells, /The Wheels of Chance/
In news:[email hidden], Ekul Namsob <[email hidden]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:
Quoted message said:
Is it fair to say that the buses are unsuited to London's streets or are they inherently dangerous? Much of Europe seems to cope with the things successfully.
I think it's because they tend to be driven by people expelled from Swindon for the crime of being too thick. They have a gert big sign on the back, saying "this bus is 18 metres long".
It should be on the steering wheel.
I think you have a point there Mr L :-\
-- Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"
If you do come to London, borrow or buy a Pay as you Go Oyster card (they are transferable).
But you can't use one to pay for more than one ticket at once.
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Fares on Oyster PAYG are 'capped' at 50p less than the equivalent One Day Travelcard or Bus Pass. Fares are *much* less than with cash (90p cf £2 for a bus trip).
A blank pay as you go oyster will cost you £3. It's called a deposit, so presumably you can claim it back by handing the card in when you leave.
If both train journeys are domestic, then yes. If not, you're into the hassle of multiple bookings, and (I suspect) destructive UK competition law[1] that makes it a serious problem for vendors to cooperate.
Not necessarily ... A couple of months ago a friend of mine booked a train ticket from Hebden Bridge to Waterloo International. It was part of a set of tickets forming a journey from Hebden Bridge to somewhere in Germany that all counted as one booking ... -- These opinions might not even be mine ... Let alone connected with my employer ...
Make sure you have a Lobstercard before you do, though, or else King Ken will hoover up the contents of your wallet for the privet hedge of being treated like a veal.
King Ken and the Flowerpot Men. Hmm... I'm just waiting for Boris to become the new mayor of London so that the rest of the country will have something to laugh at :-)
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:26:12 +0000 someone who may be Nick Kew <[email hidden]> wrote this:-
Quoted message said:
If not, you're into the hassle of multiple bookings, and (I suspect) destructive UK competition law[1] that makes it a serious problem for vendors to cooperate.
I'm not convinced it is the law. I suspect that it is the officials who are charged with interpreting it.
Anyone with a brain knows that public transport faces competition, from walking, cycling, motor cycling and private cars. However, the competition officials are obsessed with competition within public transport. Thus when a different bus company takes over most passenger trains in Scotland there is a long discussion of whether they should divest themselves of some bus interests.
In news:[email hidden], Paul Boyd <[email hidden]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:
Quoted message said:
On 29/10/2007 09:56, Dave Larrington said,
Quoted message said:
Make sure you have a Lobstercard before you do, though, or else King Ken will hoover up the contents of your wallet for the privet hedge of being treated like a veal.
King Ken and the Flowerpot Men. Hmm... I'm just waiting for Boris to become the new mayor of London so that the rest of the country will have something to laugh at :-)
Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Some of us live in Londonton.
