| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Contactless payment on the tube | |
| Posted by: | Thomas Barry | |
| Date/Time: | 17/09/14 10:28:00 |
| "I've been on a contactless pilot for a few weeks and mine works fine at Chiswick SWT." I'm wrong then, I thought the current phase rollout was tube and TfL rail lines, but not all National Rail ones yet. TfL themselves say: 'You can use your contactless payment card to travel on Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London, as well as on buses.' As usual for TfL's new website it answers all questions other than 'just show me a map where it's valid'. I'd assume if they're saying 'most' it's only things like the Javelin trains to Stratford and Heathrow Express that are excluded, though. This, on how they intend to punish fare evaders/accidental non-touchers in using contactless (they can't tell if you've touched in in real time) is interesting, too: http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/contactless-fare-evasion.html 'Card clash, as you'll be sick of hearing by now, is when you have two cards on your person and the wrong one gets read by the reader. You're then riding the system with the card you swiped plus a card you didn't, but you don't know which is which. Present the right one to the ticket inspector and all's well. But present the wrong one and you'll be slapped with an £8.60 fine, a fine you'll only find out about the following day, and then only if you look specially. From Tuesday onwards, a lot of Londoners who haven't got to grips with card clash are going to be charged a Maximum Fare for not using the system properly. In some cases they'll be charged two, that's £8.60 for touching in with a card they didn't touch out with, and £8.60 for touching out with a card they didn't touch in with. This'll happen on normal journeys - it doesn't take a ticket inspector for the system to know you've mucked up. But a ticket inspection will trigger the fine for sure, and I don't think people are going to enjoy finding these whopping extras already taken from their account. Furthermore, contactless users beware, because if your card is read a second time without having been touched in, it will be blocked from use. You'll then have to get in contact with your bank, not with TfL, and they'll have to resolve the block on contactless travel before you can ride again. Conquer the card clash issue and it shouldn't happen to you. But those attempting to travel for free, and caught twice, won't be allowed to get away with it again.' I think I'll be sticking with Oyster other than for one-off bus trips. |