Merseyrail Tap & Go

[waveyswirley]

My goodness, that's a ridiculous number of signs around the Merseyrail one.

Someone just needs to take 90% of those down and just put a big "Merseyrail pay-as-you-go validator ->" sign there instead rather than that mess.

Move the other signs to somewhere else.

I had the exact same thought when I was sat in the exact spot this photo was taken from! I nearly took a picture myself too

 

[Fawkes Cat]

My goodness, that's a ridiculous number of signs around the Merseyrail one.

Someone just needs to take 90% of those down and just put a big "Merseyrail pay-as-you-go validator ->" sign there instead rather than that mess.

Move the other signs to somewhere else.

In fairness, most if not all of the signs can be individually justified, and some of them are safety/security related. And all credit for the TfW signage and card reader being on the side for the Wrexham line - and both TfW and Merseyrail signs explaining that you need to use the right card reader for your journey.

But yes, it does look a mess.

 

[davp]

In fairness, most if not all of the signs can be individually justified, and some of them are safety/security related. And all credit for the TfW signage and card reader being on the side for the Wrexham line - and both TfW and Merseyrail signs explaining that you need to use the right card reader for your journey.

But yes, it does look a mess.

I was there today. I agree with you. However connections between the two trains are often tight and the signs are only visible if you are at the Liverpool end of the trains. I suspect most passengers are regulars and know how things work, but there were no on board announcements about what to do on the incoming TfW service.

 

[Djgr]

I was there today. I agree with you. However connections between the two trains are often tight and the signs are only visible if you are at the Liverpool end of the trains. I suspect most passengers are regulars and know how things work, but there were no on board announcements about what to do on the incoming TfW service.

The Borderlands line usually relies on automated announcements but I always find the on board staff very approachable and visible and they should be able to address any queries.

 

[davp]

The Borderlands line usually relies on automated announcements but I always find the on board staff very approachable and visible and they should be able to address any queries.

The Borderlands service was late so the staff were concentrating on turning that service around quickly rather than helping anyone who wasn't sure about how to tap out or in.

The automated announcements were out of sync with where the train was (a station ahead).

The signage could and should be improved. Staff on the Borderlands service were obviously aware of the misaligned announcements and did nothing to mitigate that.

 

[Djgr]

The Borderlands service was late so the staff were concentrating on turning that service around quickly rather than helping anyone who wasn't sure about how to tap out or in.

The automated announcements were out of sync with where the train was (a station ahead).

The signage could and should be improved. Staff on the Borderlands service were obviously aware of the misaligned announcements and did nothing to mitigate that.

or you could just ask the staff during your journey?

 

[Northerngirl]

Is there any hints of a functional zone system yet, I still have yet to use tap other than very simple peak time to and from the same station, as i have zero trust in a system that does not publish its fairs, or is the miserable mess just going to continue

 

[cool110]

Is there any hints of a functional zone system yet, I still have yet to use tap other than very simple peak time to and from the same station, as i have zero trust in a system that does not publish its fairs, or is the miserable mess just going to continue

It's the same zone system that has always existed; off-peak caps at the day saver, anytime at the weekly merseyrail only railpass

 

[Djgr]

It's the same zone system that has always existed; off-peak caps at the day saver, anytime at the weekly merseyrail only railpass

Apart from Chester (for nonMetro) and missing railcards, are there any other issues?

 

[vjm1975]

Apart from Chester (for nonMetro) and missing railcards, are there any other issues?

Other than onboard staff don’t have the ability to check I’ve not had any issues with regards to cost. Never been more than £6.40 off peak, including making multiple journeys. Only issue for me now is needing to get Chester included as it a place I visit often. Feels a pain now having to get a ticket.

 

[davp]

or you could just ask the staff during your journey?

I'm not sure how someone is supposed to ask staff during a journey about a problem they are not yet aware of. In any case this isn't a staffing issue, it's about user experience of signage.

 

[Northerngirl]

Apart from Chester (for nonMetro) and missing railcards, are there any other issues?

The utterly non existent information on peak fares

 

[cool110]

The utterly non existent information on peak fares

They're the same as paper anytime singles/returns

 

[Formby EMU Fan]

It's the same zone system that has always existed; off-peak caps at the day saver, anytime at the weekly merseyrail only railpass

I've found a copy of the zone map on the merseyrail website (in a tenuous link about tickets from Skelmersdale)
The map has been in use (Initially for Saveaway and Zone Tickets) since at least the 1980's (Although Zone G was added later)



https://www.merseyrail.org/tickets-passes/daily-travel/skelmersdale-train-link/
Merseyrail credit source as visitlancashire.com

I'm sure better maps exist that show the Zone E arrangement between Liverpool and Birkenhead.

 

[Djgr]

I've found a copy of the zone map on the merseyrail website (in a tenuous link about tickets from Skelmersdale)
The map has been in use (Initially for Saveaway and Zone Tickets) since at least the 1980's (Although Zone G was added later)

View attachment 212310

https://www.merseyrail.org/tickets-passes/daily-travel/skelmersdale-train-link/
Merseyrail credit source as visitlancashire.com

I'm sure better maps exist that show the Zone E arrangement between Liverpool and Birkenhead.

Is Zone E still a thing?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is Zone E still a thing?

The cross river zone? No.

 

[Kilopylae]

or devices such as phones or watches

I assume you would need to be hypermobile to get the face of a watch to sit flat against a card reader?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I assume you would need to be hypermobile to get the face of a watch to sit flat against a card reader?

Human wrists normally have about 160-180 degrees of rotation so this is perfectly easy to do, particularly as proximity readers don't require a perfect touch. If yours don't, either you've got some sort of injury (fair enough) or it might be worth talking to a doctor or physio about what can be done to improve your movement.

Plenty of people use Apple or Android watches to pay for TfL travel and at all manner of contactless payment terminals. This is not hypothetical, it's one of those many things that people say is infeasible on here but is actually in day to day use and has been for some years now.

 

[Formby EMU Fan]

The cross river zone? No.

Wow, I did not know that! I'm guessing it was quietly removed quite a while ago, and it was only the regular commuters that crossed the river with a travel pass were affected. (I was not one of them back then, so I didn't know)

 

[Edvid]

Travelled through Chester today for work.
New Vix gate line is in place - like-for-like replacement of the old one, except the Aztec code readers are lower down and flat on the gate front, so more stooping to read etickets than with the previous bolt-on ones.
This is the bottom of the stairs to Platforms 4-7B: Merseyrail validator on the left (with poster board for "no bank cards at Chester"), on the other side of the staircase an unlabelled Pink validator which I presume belongs to the TfW North Wales scheme, but there is no signage ...View attachment 211985

TfW North Wales PAYG went live at Chester today. For those tapping with a bank card / phone / etc at the new gates there and at another Tap & Go station* at this point in time, will the Chester tap be attributed to Merseyrail (appropriate Tap & Go fare) or to TfW (incomplete journey charges on both Tap & Go and North Wales PAYG)?

[* Not including the pink TfW validator at Bidston]

 

[Fawkes Cat]

TfW North Wales PAYG went live at Chester today. For those tapping with a bank card / phone / etc at the new gates there and at another Tap & Go station* at this point in time, will the Chester tap be attributed to Merseyrail (appropriate Tap & Go fare) or to TfW (incomplete journey charges on both Tap & Go and North Wales PAYG)?

I would speculate that if one taps at one end of the journey on a pink (TfW) reader and at the other on a yellow (Merseyrail) reader (and with nothing in between) you would surely get two incomplete journey charges - one from each system.

But since as per your other post Chester has both pink TfW and yellow Merseyrail readers, surely the process will be exactly the same as at Bidston which also has pink and yellow readers? I'm not saying that this is a satisfactory position, just that it will be the same position.

 

[Djgr]

I would speculate that if one taps at one end of the journey on a pink (TfW) reader and at the other on a yellow (Merseyrail) reader (and with nothing in between) you would surely get two incomplete journey charges - one from each system.

Yes. I don't think the two systems talk to one another, but this is (now relatively rapid) work in progess and better than waiting for the all singing all dancing system that never happens.

 

[Edvid]

I would speculate that if one taps at one end of the journey on a pink (TfW) reader and at the other on a yellow (Merseyrail) reader (and with nothing in between) you would surely get two incomplete journey charges - one from each system.

I agree, though my query was about a journey involving a standalone Merseyrail reader at one end and Chester's gates at the other. Perhaps I confused you by including the picture (not mine) of Chester's standalone readers within the quoted post.

It's also just occurred to me that it's now possible to tap at both ends of a Chester-Bidston journey (gates at the former, pink reader at the latter; no incomplete journey) and still break the rules, unintentionally or otherwise, if you travel via Hamilton Square. (Unless disruption-related arrangements are in place)