Can't touch in

[Tibbs]

Had an interesting one last night. I went out with some friends and got to the station to go home and all the barriers were open and showing red lights.

Loads of people were trying to touch in with their Oysters and the machines weren't having any of it. Now it's not an issue for me because I have a season ticket, but for others on PAYG it must have caused issues at the other end as their touch out would show an unfinished journey and an extra cost.

Had they encountered an RPI on that journey, would the RPI have been told that the barriers at a certain station were faulty and not accepting taps?

 

[Mojo]

Was this a Rail, Overground, Underground or DLR station?

It sounds to me not that the gates are faulty, but that they have been opened incorrectly. Normally when the fire alarm is activated or the emergency open plunger is in use. I had this issue recently when I was at Marylebone BR and they were testing the fire alarm.

A project at LU stations to trial changes was underway some time last year. Previously when the gates go into Emergency open all Oyster readers exit only, but this aimed to leave them functional in the direction they were in before the gates opened. I have to confess to being out of the loop and don't know the current status of this, and whether it was rolled out across LU or not.

 

[radamfi]

When I came back from Wembley Central the other day after the football, we were all directed to an alternative entrance where there were no Oyster readers. When I got to Victoria, I told the gate attendant that I had come from Wembley and told not to touch in. He just let me out and therefore I got a free ride.

 

[island]

Something like this happened at London Bridge during the games. Passengers wanting platforms 3-6 had nowhere to touch in, and notices said "you do not need to touch in here today, you will automatically be charged the right fare". Wonder how they managed that and moreover whether it caused manual refunds to be triggered, which someone not from London might not collect?

 

[Brucey]

Something like this happened at London Bridge during the games. Passengers wanting platforms 3-6 had nowhere to touch in, and notices said "you do not need to touch in here today, you will automatically be charged the right fare". Wonder how they managed that and moreover whether it caused manual refunds to be triggered, which someone not from London might not collect?

During the games, I saw several reports of the "maximum fare" charged for an incomplete journey to be considerably lower than normal.

 

[Tibbs]

It was Putney Rail station.

Had I been travelling on PAYG I'd have been nervous as I know from reading on here just how easy it is to accidentally incriminate yourself by saying slightly the wrong thing.

 

[Mojo]

During the games, I saw several reports of the "maximum fare" charged for an incomplete journey to be considerably lower than normal.

Yes, during the Games, the minimum fare was charged on entry and then an additional charge was made on exit (if appropriate). Consequently, customers with either an unfinished or an unstarted journey were charged the lowest fare to/from that station.