Oyster PAYG on Thames Clippers

[James H]

New arrangement from 22 September:
http://www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table/ticketing-changes

(Until now you have been able to use Oyster PAYG to buy paper tickets for the ferry, but not for paperless travel.)

I can foresee trouble with this:

One of our staff must see you touch in with your pay as you go Oyster card for you to board. If you touch in before you are boarding then our staff member will ask you to touch in again.

 

[TransportHub]

Yeah that could be an issue...

TfL either need ticket barriers or Oyster readers as you board

 

[infobleep]

Shouldn't staff have readers to check that people have paid? Surely that would work if they were not sure.

 

[jopsuk]

that would be the sort of thing a sensible part of an integrated transport network would do, yes. Not as if the boats are short of staff- isn't it somehing like six or seven crew on each ~200 capacity clipper?

Versus, of course, 1 staff member on a DOO mainline train or Underground crush loaded with 700-1000 commuters.

 

[infobleep]

that would be the sort of thing a sensible part of an integrated transport network would do, yes. Not as if the boats are short of staff- isn't it somehing like six or seven crew on each ~200 capacity clipper?

Versus, of course, 1 staff member on a DOO mainline train or Underground crush loaded with 700-1000 commuters.

Perhaps they can't afford the additional readers or there is an argument over who pays for the readers so nothing is done or done for some time.

I once worked somewhere with outsourced IT. We were supposed to be going to virtual Windows machines but the project over ran so we were still on physical desktops.

My computer failed and it was out of warranty. I was given a spare one a colleague had but it wasn't powerful enough. It took 2 months of arguing over who was going to pay for a new computer. Outsourced IT or company I was contracting for. In the mean time my work rate was slowing down. It extended the project I was working on and the costs went up accordingly. I wasn't the only one affected by this either.

Don't know who coughed up the money but I eventually got a suitable computer.

 

[burneside]

I had an ticket related experience on the clippers last night, this relates to the 33% discount for Travelcard holders, not PAYG, though highlights inadequacies in the new system.

The one-and-only ticket machine at Embankment pier was out of action, I was told by the Thames Clipper employee on the pier that I would have to pay full fare on the boat as there was no facility to issue Travelcard discounted tickets on-board. Naturally I was not happy with this and told him it was their problem the ticket machine was not working and they should issue me with the correct ticket on the boat. He then spent 10 minutes alternating between his radio and mobile trying to contact somebody in the control centre who could rule on this issue, but apparently the person he needed to speak to had left for the day.

Eventually the boat arrived and he spoke to the crew, and then told me I could buy my discounted ticket at the bar. On attempting to do this I was informed they didn't have an Oyster reader to verify I was holding a valid Travelcard. Feeling pretty exasperated by this point I asked to speak to the supervisor who then instructed the employee to issue the discounted ticket regardless.

The whole experience seemed pretty shambolic, and considering the new ticketing system was introduced in September I would have thought these teething troubles would be sorted by now, it can't have been the first time one of the new ticket machines has failed.

 

[jon0844]

You're lucky they didn't refuse you travel I suppose, but this does sound a mess - especially the earlier mentioned suggestion you have to tap in when observed doing so!

 

[Mike395]

That being said, the Oyster readers at the piers have ridiculously big green lights that indicate to the boat crew that a passenger has paid, they're pretty hard to miss!