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Isn't it their fault if they don't have change?

faith

Posted by faith about 1 year ago
Last active about 1 year ago 11 responses

Today, I tried to hop on a bus to work- but as you know, although I have an Oyster card, I can’t find anywhere nearby to top it up, so I end up just not topping it up. I had a £5 note. The fare is £2- not a problem?

Apparently it is- because when I went to pay, the driver refused to let me on claiming she had no change and where was my oyster card!? WTF? She looked at me as if I’d asked her to walk on water.

Surely, its her fault if she doesn’t have change and should have just let me on for free? Its not as if I had given her a £20 and wanted £18 change. Just £3.

Lack of Oyster topping up facilities suck.

You’ll all be pleased to know, that I have now discovered somewhere, very near where I live that will top up Oyster cards (its a new addition to their services). When I asked him and he said yes, I could have kissed him.

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11 responses

OneFishTwoFish

The same thing happened to me just before Christmas. I jumped on the bus, swiped my Oyster onlyto discover that I didn’t have enough money on it. So tried to pay – with a fiver – and he refused on the grounds he had no change.

Now I can understand them not having change of a £20 note, but a fiver?! I was on my way to the sodding airport at the time as well, so in something of a rush. I even suggested they keep the change, as I was in a rush, but they refused to do that too. Had to shlepp all the way up Highgate Hill with a heavy rucksack and get change from the shop.

Posted about 1 year ago by OneFishTwoFish

callummay

Auto-top up is the way ahead (you can change a setting on the TfL website so that every time your credit drops below a fiver, Ken Livingstone takes £20 from your bank account without even asking. Brilliant or what?)

Posted about 1 year ago by callummay

agox

The TFL online top-up service for prepay Oysters makes me froth with rage for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, after you load it up online, it doesn’t actually go on your card for some time (can’t remember whether it is 24 hours or 48, but it’s bloody irritating – surely the whole point it to make it more convenient than an in-station topup?!)

Secondly, to actually activate the credit, you have to select a sodding station and then the next time you touch in or out there it will activate your credit. Fine if you have a regular routine (though in that case you would probably have a Travelcard not prepay, no?) but if you don’t go through your selected station for whatever reason, it can be hellishly incovenient actually getting there to activate the credit that you topped up online under the illusion that it would make your life easier than queueing at the machine in the station.

sobbing quietly

Posted about 1 year ago by agox

Morals

The whole Oyster top-up thing is a farce – I only use mine for the bus as if I’m going in to town it’s better for me to get a one day TC, so I can’t top up online as I don’t tend to use the tube that often, and the auto top-up thing is fine unless you happen to run low on your oyster card towards the end of the month….

Here’s an idea, why not fit buses with the kit required to top up your Oyster card like you do in the local shop? Or is that far too much effort for TfL?

Posted about 1 year ago by Morals

unknown

TFl make me laugh, for all the froth and the mountains of promotional material they really only have one message…

Pay up and put up.

Posted about 1 year ago by unknown

Knid

Perhaps she just didn’t want you on her bus? You shouldn’t put up with it – should’ve kicked her in the cunt.

Posted about 1 year ago by Knid

fberriman

I like the auto-topup thing, although it did take me around 3 months to manage to find a day when I’d remembered to set up the authentication thing (because if you don’t do it in a set amount of time, you have to set it up again) AND make it to a tube stop that I’d designated (I mostly use mine on the bus, and you can’t choose a bus stop :( ). I’ve set the auto-topup amount quite low so I don’t have to worry about the end of the month blues.

They should make it easier to set that up though – or let you top up immediately for one off purchases online.

I’m sure I read somewhere that bus drivers have to let you on buses if you’ve got enough money, even if they don’t have change, and give you the change as soon as they have it (say, when a person gets on the bus and gives them cash in coins). Maybe that was for a network outside of London. Wish I could recall where I read that.

Posted about 1 year ago by fberriman

Natasha

How nasty of her. I got on the bus last night and when I put my card to the reader it was out of credit, so I went to open my handbag but the driver said I didn’t have to pay – so there are nice ones too.

Posted about 1 year ago by Natasha

bendylan

I hopped on the 38 bus the other day without my oyster, and went to try and pay the driver. She told me they don’t take cash on that bus, so we shrugged at each other and I sat down. There again the 38 is known as the free bendy bus by everyone I know in Hackney, so the she was probably just in shock that I’d even tried.

Posted about 1 year ago by bendylan

fberriman

Yeah, that’s happened to me. Also found myself on buses where the card reader doesn’t even work – so that’s a free trip too, since the driver nearly always just waves everyone through.

Posted about 1 year ago by fberriman

Pandini

I went to get on a bus near Old St the other day, swiped my Oyster – not enough money. So I get out a £20 note. The driver takes one look at it and waves me on.

I was trying to work out whether I had saved £1 or £2.

Posted about 1 year ago by Pandini