East Dulwich station

[Guest]

Any ideas on what you're supposed to do when you can't buy a ticket because the ticket machine & permit-to-travel machines are permanently broken? I always find it so pleasant to be delayed and treated like a criminal at London Bridge for travelling without a ticket when there's no means of getting one.

[timtim]

I have the same problem, but travelling from Peckham Rye.

My standard approach at London Bridge, in order:

a) hope the gates are open

b) tell the guy at the gate that I need to renew downstairs

c) try the guy on the other gate

d) jump the fence and get arrested ;-)

[Quaywe]

Just follow someone through the gate at london bridge. If you use your morning paper to cover the sensor on the other side of the gate (before the person you're following has completely gone through) then the gate won't beep or anything, in fact it will stay open for as long as you've got the sensor covered. There's no way you'll get picked up in the rush hour crowds at LB station, then you can buy your travel card on the other side. Win, win!

[nofanofcars]

travelcard from newsagent?

[Guest]

No good if you just want a return unfortunately. I am amazed that it seems to be beyond them to enable you to buy a ticket at the station. I am equally amazed by the fact that I have seen blatant fare-evaders jumping the gates, in full view of staff, who simply ignore it - I think they're too scared to intervene in case things get nasty. Whereas if you look professional/middle-class they see you as easy prey, despite the fact that you would buy a ticket if you possibly could. The whole thing is a total mess.

PS. EDKiwi you naughty man. You will get me arrested! Do you do this on a regular basis?

[Quaywe]

LOL, I do it when the ticket machine's don't work and the ticket office is closed (or the queue too long). Of course I ALWAYS buy my travelcard on the other side of the gate once I'm through.

[cookie]

I got caught fooling the barriers last year. Forgot to buy my travelcard, saw the huge queues at the ticket booth on the platforms and doubled up with my partner to get through the barriers. Unfortunately a revenue protection officer was stood on the other side disguised as a biker and caught me bang to rights. He chose to ignore the mitigating factors that I had to get a travelcard to continue my journey to Swiss Cottage anyway, and that I'm famously forgetful, which is fair enough I suppose as I could have been lying :) Anyway, they prosecute and take the case to court. I pleaded guilty in my absence and got a couple of hundred fine. Don't risk it!

[Guest]

Can't believe it! I guess you were in the wrong but the fact that the system is so bad - making us all contemplate taking risks like this, when all we really want to do is pay our fare - is a total disgrace. I'm sure most people have travelled in Europe and North America and never encountered these problems. There is something so British about shambolic systems run by staff who don't seem to give a damn, isn't there? The net result seems to be to punish respectable people while those who choose to flout the law brazenly can get away with it.

My partner - who is a teacher, second in charge of his department, was detained at a London station for not having a ticket and the police were called! This was because he could not buy one in advance at East Dulwich (everything closed/broken, as usual) and refused to queue up to get one at London Bridge as this would have meant missing his connection and being an hour late for his first lesson. At the barriers he immediately approached a staff member and offered to pay but was told he had to pay a penalty fare. All because the train company can't be bothered to provide a ticket machine or staff the station.

Maybe we should all refuse to pay until they sort East Dulwich station out? I see it has won some kind of award for meeting national standards or something (poster on the wall outside). Lol

[Huguenot]

I blame the trades unions.... ;-)

[Mark]

Does anyone one know when pre-pay cards will be usable at East Dulwich Station? I did email Southern/South Western Trains a year or two ago and ask but they haven't replied yet. I can imagine the rail company Customer Services Manager "What's one whinging customer going to do if we don't email them back? Nothing. So what if they complain about that? Put it on the pile with the others and blame it on previous under-funding by the government and get sympathy for the fact we're trying our best to cleanup someone else's mess. If they ask again say something about the Olympics and regeneration plans and twenty twelve / fifteen / twenty, that'll shut them up for a few years. Then if they ask about Pre-Pay again phone Bob Crowe and get him to call for a strike on the grounds of continual harassment from the public, we have jobs to do and mouths to feed and we can't do it with all this continual barrage from people who don't understand the red tape we have to go through a private company trying to survives in these troubled times etc etc."

I do hope Pre Pay will be an option at East Dulwich station soon.

[Huguenot]

Oystercard is a TFL related scheme for integrated transport within London, whereas the rail franchises are the responsibility of the Department for Transport. When the last tender for South Central came up a few years ago Red Ken was firmly on the govt.'s no Christmas card list and so Oystercard was not included as part of the franchise terms.

Govt. policy has now changed and the current South Western franchise has the inclusion of Oystercard facilities as a pre-requisite for the winning bid. Hence on the SW area (trains running in and out of Waterloo to the south coast mostly) you'll see Oystercard facilities up and running by 2009.

Sadly although we can expect to see Oystercard on all new London-based franchises, the South Central area doesn't come up for re-tender until 2009 earliest.

Since I can't see GoVia spending cash on the installation of something that wasn't in their franchise bid (their shareholders would do their nuts), and I can't see the govt. allowing Red Ken to force them to renegotiate their franchise contracts over something that would make him look good, I can't see Oystercard coming to ED before 2010.

The alternative would be for TFL to fund the installation, maybe that's what all these daft Venezuelan oil contracts are intended to find the money for?

[Guest]

I used to get a bus up to Denmark Hill, then take the train to Blackfriars. On one occassion I went to renew my travelcard but none of the windows were open. The ticket machine wouldnt accept cards - one of those really great speedy new ones. I only had one pound cash but the staff wouldnt put the permit to travel machine on as the ticket machine was technically working. I had no choice but to risk it and renew my ticket at the other end. Nope! Got stopped by the fare police and told i had to pay a ?20 fine. This I did and the inspector told me I could appeal up to 28 days and wrote the date on the penalty fare. I appealed within the 28 days and received a letter to say the penalty had been upheld as I had not appealled with the requied 21 DAYS! The "final decision" notice also informed me that no further correspondence would be entered into. Et valois - how to stitch your customers and maximise revenue! What can you do? Stop using the train? Not really an option. Use the alternative company on your track - not an option at all! You have to laugh really - thanks Maggie! I owe you one! Anything else we can privatise to improve efficiency?

[batdog]

Why is everyone blaming the system here and when election times comes, like a faithful flock of sheeps... you all give AGAIN the mandate to the same thieves that are now running this lovely country?

batdog

[Guest]

The answer is simple. We have two choices: New Tories (Labour) or Old Tories (rebranded as "Green Tories"). Neither have any principles - just strategies to stay in power for as long as possible. Whoever said we lived in a democracy?

[Guest]

The fact that there is so often no way to legitimately buy a ticket at East Dulwich really is a mess. I once was making a trip to Thameslink via London Bridge. A straight single fare journey. So, as no machine was working at East Dulwich, I changed platform at London Bridge and offered to pay my ticket at Thameslink, only to be told I had to pay a penalty fare and be treated like a criminal. Apparently I should have paid at London Bridge, which is ridiculous as this was not my destination, and the ticket place there was nowhere near where I had to change platforms (would have missed my Thameslink train, if I had tried to buy there).

Anyhow, I refused to pay the penalty fare on principle. They took my name and wasted my time accordingly, which infuriated me. But they never followed it up. Result: I did't actually pay for that journey at all...