The rail/coach travel desk at Luton Airport has been moved closer to the arrivals waiting area and the S&B ticket vending machines have been replaced with Worldline/Evoke versions, with another installed to join two existing W/E machines at the DART station. In addition the terminal-end gateline has been removed and DART contactless passengers only tap their card/device at the Parkway end.
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Luton Airport changes (travel desk / DART gateline)
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Interesting. I'd be concerned that will mean people get in trouble for using it without paying as it's free at basically every other airport in the world.
Is there any sort of Penalty Fares or prosecutions arrangement in place for those not paying? Or are they just sent back to the terminal again if they don't have a fiver or a debit card on them?
TT-ONR-NRN
Veteran Member
Tap once at the end? That doesn't sound a very effective way of deterring fare evasion, unless there are gates?
NOT that I think the service should be charged for at all.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
There is a gateline, yes.
Haywain
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There have been three machines at the Parkway end for quite a while.
Yes, but I was referring to the airport end.
There are now nine Worldline/Evoke TVMs in all - three-a-piece at Parkway station (Kimpton Road side), the airport DART station, and the airport terminal itself. (Not including those at Gatwick, of course)
Discuss223
Member
I see the vending machines don't take proper cash, shame on them.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Thameslink & East Midlands Railway operate a Penalty Fare scheme. Failure to buy your ticket before boarding can result in a Penalty Fare of at least £100 plus the price of a ticket or prosecution.
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Haywain
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Proper cash? Do they take fake cash then?
Thameslink and EMR don't operate the Luton DART.
Discuss223
Member
It only takes card payments unfortunately.
I see, it said trains to London in the picture, my mistake.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
The DART is not operated by either of those, but rather by or on behalf of Luton Borough Council (via its ownership of the airport). Thus those schemes cannot apply to it.
This explains the confusion my friend had travelling to the station a few days ago.
I was concerned that they had someone not tapped, and the TfL app was showing a missing touch, but it did get auto-resolved correctly, thankfully.
Removing the gateline at one end of the shuttle certainly makes it easier for passengers (often with their hands full of luggage), and allows staff to be concentrated at the barriered end to help with tickets and payment.
Another not-fully-barriered airport people-mover system is the AirTrain JFK, which serves the various terminals at the New York John F Kennedy International Airport in a loop and has branches to Howard Beach and Jamaica stations on the NYC Subway (and also Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica), which are the only stations with gatelines. The lack of gatelines at the airport stations is a necessity (unlike at Luton), as the AirTrain acts as a free shuttle between terminals, car parks, etc., while passengers using the AirTrain to travel to/from the airport are charged $8.50 to get through the gatelines at Howard Beach or Jamaica. Many years ago when I rode it from the airport, upon arrival at Jamaica I had to queue up at a bank of ticket machines inside the gateline to buy a MetroCard to exit, but these days you can also just tap through using contactless.
Another not-fully-barriered airport people-mover system is the AirTrain JFK, which serves the various terminals at the New York John F Kennedy International Airport in a loop and has branches to Howard Beach and Jamaica stations on the NYC Subway (and also Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica), which are the only stations with gatelines. The lack of gatelines at the airport stations is a necessity (unlike at Luton), as the AirTrain acts as a free shuttle between terminals, car parks, etc., while passengers using the AirTrain to travel to/from the airport are charged $8.50 to get through the gatelines at Howard Beach or Jamaica. Many years ago when I rode it from the airport, upon arrival at Jamaica I had to queue up at a bank of ticket machines inside the gateline to buy a MetroCard to exit, but these days you can also just tap through using contactless.
Good. Given that it is near impossible to pay by cash for a flight arriving at Luton, and therefore passengers arriving will already have used a credit card, it would be silly to go to the extra cost of machines that take cash and particularly the expense of emptying the things.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
And given that anyone who does like to pay cash is likely to be tight on funds, they may be better served by Arriva Busway bus A which will be no more than £3.
How stupid of them to remove ticket barriers at one end but keep them at the other end. Now lots of passengers will probably presume it is a free shuttle (like the Birmingham / Gatwick / Heathrow / Stansted ones are and like you would expect an airport monorail to be free) and get onboard at the airport thinking they have nothing to pay. Then they will arrive at the station and be hit with a rip off £4.90 fare for the three minute journey. I can definitely see this happening. Keeping the barriers at both ends is definitely better as the it makes it clear that it is not a free service. Especially on something like this which a lot of people would presume is free.
Also what happens if someone arrives at the parkway station without a ticket and only has cash on them? Do they just send them straight back to the airport?
The only benefit of this new arrangement is train enthusiasts (or monorail enthusiasts) who can now take a free return rides from the airport as no fare will be charged if you board at the airport and then return straight back again! But for ordinary travellers this arrangement seems stupid!
Also what happens if someone arrives at the parkway station without a ticket and only has cash on them? Do they just send them straight back to the airport?
The only benefit of this new arrangement is train enthusiasts (or monorail enthusiasts) who can now take a free return rides from the airport as no fare will be charged if you board at the airport and then return straight back again! But for ordinary travellers this arrangement seems stupid!
Have you actually ever used the system ?
How is it managed at JFK with the same system? Or the Waterloo & City Line? Or the M6 toll?
As above - how has the individual arrived at the airport in the first place without using a card?
How is it managed at JFK with the same system? Or the Waterloo & City Line? Or the M6 toll?
As above - how has the individual arrived at the airport in the first place without using a card?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It is to be fair possible that someone else purchased the flight for them. Of course they could also purchase a DART ticket online for them too, but it might not occur to them that it's necessary to pay for it because that isn't usually the case for airport shuttles of this type.
You can still purchase airplane tickets with cash at the airport. You can also still purchase airplane tickets with cash at many travel agents. Especially in third world countries this is still very common. So it is actually perfectly likely that a small amount of people without a bank account will arrive at Luton Airport on a flight every now and again.
I suppose. But the intersection of the venn diagram thatincludes all the following…
1) people who do not have a credit / debit card
2) are arriving by air at Luton airport
3) intend to travel to the station
4) have not already bought a rail ticket (whichincludes the DART)
5) can‘t read the signs at the terminal station advising it is a paid system and cash not accepted
… must be tiny.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Not with easyjet you can’t. I dont know about Ryanair and Wizz (or El Al) but I’d be surprised. Given they run almost all the public flights at Luton between them, and a majority if passengers using Luton are UK residents making return journeys (ie buy thier tickets here) I’d be astonished if anyone does pay by cash.
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Blackpool boy
On Moderation
You forgot to add
6) From Africa ( granted they do go morocco and egypt i think but thats it)
A good move, provided there's adequate signage airport-end as to the price. The airport gateline was always a bottleneck (and bizarrely, not all gates were wide gates! Though that still applies at Parkway....) and just seemed unnecessary.
Some foreign tourists also still rely on cash as many countries are not as enlightened as the UK to have widespread FX-free bank cards.
You’ve lost me there.
westcoaster
Established Member
When I worked for easyjet at Luton airport, including stints on the ticket desk in the terminal.
We had lots of people pay for tickets by cash, I vividly remember a builder who paid for 4 return flights to malaga a month all in cash many a time. I'd say it was 550/50 cash and card.
How long ago was that?
Blackpool boy
On Moderation
Apologies - it was in reference to the poster you were quoting about how many people in africa use cash to book flights but theres very few flights that go to africa and thus another to add to your list
johncrossley
Established Member
I just used the DART from the airport and the TfL dashboard says
"Unknown to Luton Airport Parkway DART"
I presume TfL know there is no longer a gate at the airport?
"Unknown to Luton Airport Parkway DART"
I presume TfL know there is no longer a gate at the airport?
Yes, it'll be automagically corrected overnight.
johncrossley
Established Member
It now says
My contactless cards
You have 1 notification
Incomplete Journey(s)
MasterCard card number:ending in
Expires:
25/01/2025
Unknown to Luton Airport Parkway DART
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£4.90
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