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In message <Uh+***@hotmail.com>, bof <***@hotmail.com>
writes
Post by bof<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1969212.ece>
When I got the train home last night, the entire ticket hall was closed
so you couldn't gain access to the ticket machines or ticket counters,
and there were no staff to be seen. This was about 2300, at a major SWT
station when there were still plenty more trains to be caught. SWT's
attitude to customers is just crap.
Take a photo of the hall being shut.
Ring the paper. See if you can get the press to do a story about it.
Nice idea, I might just do that.
I had a similar experience taking a train to London from an unmanned
station which had an out of order ticket to ride vending machine at the
entrance. I found a SWT revenue protection droid on the train who
demanded a supplement which I refused to pay, and he refused to tell me
what the standard fare was that I should pay.
The droid demanded my name and address which I refused to provide,
saying that I would willingly supply my name and address to a British
Transport police officer. This caused the SWT droid a problem because,
as I knew, they're not allowed to call the BTP because they now charge
something like a GBP100 incident attendance fee!
The upshot was that SWT never did get their fare off me. Even if they
had called the BTP they would've been on a hiding to nothing because
none of their revenue protection ploys have changed the underlying
all-important principle under the Theft Act of intent.
Ticket to ride vending machines on stations are not the responsibility
of the train operators which highlights the ghastly mess that treasury
created when they refused to implement a programme of proper integration
before allowing privatisation because it would take too long. It was
easier to break up the infrastructure of the rail network into segments
based on function rather than responsibility.
--
James Follett. Novelist (Callsign G1LXP)
http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk and http://www.marjacq.com