Let me give you some context: I had a work recruitment evening tonight so was in the office interviewing candidates until 10pm. When the recruitment evening ended I called a cab and was told that it would be 20mins. 45mins later and I was still waiting so decided to cut my losses and head for the DLR.
I touched in and headed up to the platform. A train was just arriving when I got a call saying my taxi had arrived. As it was raining and I didn't fancy the walk from the DLR station to my flat I decided to head back down to the taxi. Realising that I was going to be charged unless I touched out I went to speak to the staff at the DLR station. When I asked if there was anything I could do I was told No, you've just lost £6.
Now, I'm pro personal responsibility. Oyster is a much more efficient system than paper tickets and I am prepared to pay a bit more for the convenience. There are also lots of signs reminding you to touch in and touch out. I don't think anyone who just forgets has a leg to stand on. However, I am bit surprised that the staff at stations don't have the ability to reset you card or at least give you a claims form. I think he was a bit surprised when I walked off without saying a word. Staff abuse must be a bit more prevalent than I thought as he was clearly expecting me to react much more.
Yes, you can't just touch the same reader again to go "out" because it will assume you've made a mistake and tried to touch "in" twice.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a very plural system because I bet there is no complaints procedure (and how would you prove you didn't get on that train?).
I don't know what the solution is though...