Oyster Card Sucks
Yes, you read it right, London's transit fare payment card - Oyster card - sold by the Transport for London for use on most transport systems is a highly dysfunctional transit card system!
Today I experienced the 2nd failed attempt at picking up my online purchase which is supposed to be waiting for collection from the swipe machine located outside the DLR station I commute from.
Theoretically, commuters should be able to have a hassle free experience i.e. not have to queue up to purchase tickets anymore as you can do your purchases online. On top of that, commuters can store up to more than 2 types of travel cards on this card i.e. 1 one week travelcard + (X)£ worth of pre-paid value + 2nd one week travelcard.
This card, which is taking over paper tickets is proving to frustrate users!!! Oh, I'm absolutely certain there's more than one - read Oyster Card Sucks and Oyster Card Sucks II
Here's the story:
I made a purchase for a 1 week travel card online last Saturday, and tried to pick up later on by swiping the card on the card reader. Being a piece of supposely intellitent technology, the reader can only show you how much you have left on the card when you swipe upon entering the station, and beeps loudy when the card doesn't work. It doesn't however tell you when you try to swipe it against the reader if you've successfully picked up the card!
From my previous failed attempt, and in order to check if the card has picked up the new 1 week travel card, I have learnt to double check my card balance online on the same day. But no, it didn't work! Being a patient user of stressful technology (trust me, London seem to make things more stressful than necessary), I attempted picking up the 1 week travel card again this morning on the way to work. This time, I couldn't check it until I got to a computer to go online. And by the time I passed the gates through to the station near work, I already discovered that it didn't work. The reason being that the Oyster card was 'clever' enough to show how much balance you have on the card from your pre-paid value.
This is just the beginning of the story:
The above are not the only flaws in this card system. The husband and I have both been in situations where the Oyster card - supposedly smart travel card - didn't know how to close the transaction because we have forgotten to swipe in and out when travelling to a which didn't have ticket barriers, but returning to a station that has one. The best examples of barrier-less stations are DLR stations. The next thing you know is that you'd end up with a bigger amount taken away from your pre-paid value if you're only on pre-pay as the 'intelligent card' cannot comprehend an unfinished route, and thus compute and charge you more than a normal travel card that only costs £4.70. Rip off.
To top up with all the dysfunctional flaws, they have this customer help line that further frustrates users.
Imagine this:
You are a disgruntled commuter who's been charged more than the regular amount for a travel card, and try to approach a ticket assistant at a tube station to get a refund. But no it's not as straight forward as that. The ticket assistant gives you a number to call for all Oyster card related transactions (all apart from ticket sales). So then when you get home and have some time, you pick up the phone to call the helpline hoping that you'd get through. But after a long automated answering cue to get you to press option 1 (for adult Oyster card) + option 3 (for refund and bla bla), you land yourself to the last reply that say 'Sorry our helpline officers are not able to pick up your call. Our office hours are from 08:00 to 20:00'. The frustration builds up, and over time it turns into stress. Why? Oh well, the next day when you try to call again, you'd end up in a longer queue, you'd be on the phone waiting 15 minutes or more before a helpline assistant finally picks up your call.
I think Oyster card has a big usability issue that needs to be answered. So for the time being, I have decided that 'Oyster Card SUCKS'!
End of story? Nope, there's more!
Well maybe you think I can decide to abandon it and go back to paper tickets. Ha! Yes, if only I go with daily travel cards that costs £4.70 (for off peak hours) or £6 and up (for rush hour). However, most of the time I travel during rush hours - so no go. To save up on travel costs, one would be wise to purchase a weekly travel card that costs £21.40. But the Transport for London authorities have decided to abolish all sales of one week travel cards in the form of paper tickets, they are all in Oyster Card now. So all one week travel card users are forced to use this new system.
What do you think? Does Oyster Card suck big time? I certainly think so.
You might come to conclude that my ramblings are trivial. However do read more about a less frustrated but more rational analysis of the Oyster Software design problem before making your judgement.
Today I experienced the 2nd failed attempt at picking up my online purchase which is supposed to be waiting for collection from the swipe machine located outside the DLR station I commute from.
Theoretically, commuters should be able to have a hassle free experience i.e. not have to queue up to purchase tickets anymore as you can do your purchases online. On top of that, commuters can store up to more than 2 types of travel cards on this card i.e. 1 one week travelcard + (X)£ worth of pre-paid value + 2nd one week travelcard.
This card, which is taking over paper tickets is proving to frustrate users!!! Oh, I'm absolutely certain there's more than one - read Oyster Card Sucks and Oyster Card Sucks II
Here's the story:
I made a purchase for a 1 week travel card online last Saturday, and tried to pick up later on by swiping the card on the card reader. Being a piece of supposely intellitent technology, the reader can only show you how much you have left on the card when you swipe upon entering the station, and beeps loudy when the card doesn't work. It doesn't however tell you when you try to swipe it against the reader if you've successfully picked up the card!
From my previous failed attempt, and in order to check if the card has picked up the new 1 week travel card, I have learnt to double check my card balance online on the same day. But no, it didn't work! Being a patient user of stressful technology (trust me, London seem to make things more stressful than necessary), I attempted picking up the 1 week travel card again this morning on the way to work. This time, I couldn't check it until I got to a computer to go online. And by the time I passed the gates through to the station near work, I already discovered that it didn't work. The reason being that the Oyster card was 'clever' enough to show how much balance you have on the card from your pre-paid value.
This is just the beginning of the story:
The above are not the only flaws in this card system. The husband and I have both been in situations where the Oyster card - supposedly smart travel card - didn't know how to close the transaction because we have forgotten to swipe in and out when travelling to a which didn't have ticket barriers, but returning to a station that has one. The best examples of barrier-less stations are DLR stations. The next thing you know is that you'd end up with a bigger amount taken away from your pre-paid value if you're only on pre-pay as the 'intelligent card' cannot comprehend an unfinished route, and thus compute and charge you more than a normal travel card that only costs £4.70. Rip off.
To top up with all the dysfunctional flaws, they have this customer help line that further frustrates users.
Imagine this:
You are a disgruntled commuter who's been charged more than the regular amount for a travel card, and try to approach a ticket assistant at a tube station to get a refund. But no it's not as straight forward as that. The ticket assistant gives you a number to call for all Oyster card related transactions (all apart from ticket sales). So then when you get home and have some time, you pick up the phone to call the helpline hoping that you'd get through. But after a long automated answering cue to get you to press option 1 (for adult Oyster card) + option 3 (for refund and bla bla), you land yourself to the last reply that say 'Sorry our helpline officers are not able to pick up your call. Our office hours are from 08:00 to 20:00'. The frustration builds up, and over time it turns into stress. Why? Oh well, the next day when you try to call again, you'd end up in a longer queue, you'd be on the phone waiting 15 minutes or more before a helpline assistant finally picks up your call.
I think Oyster card has a big usability issue that needs to be answered. So for the time being, I have decided that 'Oyster Card SUCKS'!
End of story? Nope, there's more!
Well maybe you think I can decide to abandon it and go back to paper tickets. Ha! Yes, if only I go with daily travel cards that costs £4.70 (for off peak hours) or £6 and up (for rush hour). However, most of the time I travel during rush hours - so no go. To save up on travel costs, one would be wise to purchase a weekly travel card that costs £21.40. But the Transport for London authorities have decided to abolish all sales of one week travel cards in the form of paper tickets, they are all in Oyster Card now. So all one week travel card users are forced to use this new system.
What do you think? Does Oyster Card suck big time? I certainly think so.
You might come to conclude that my ramblings are trivial. However do read more about a less frustrated but more rational analysis of the Oyster Software design problem before making your judgement.
12 Comments:
Oh yea.. tell me about oyster card!!! I thought that pre-pay thing would work on national rail (train) if you travel out of zone on your travelcard, similar to how it works if you were traveling on the underground.
And guess what? Oystercard doesnt work like this, and I got a 20 pounds fine for not having a valid ticket when I reached the other end of my journey in zone 6. I obvioulsy didn't pay and appealled against this whole bullshit in writing, but obvioulsy I was unsucessful!
Whoa!!! And I thought we've been whining about nothing all this while. Jeeze... I bet they designed this dysfunctional system to rip people off their money.
I lost my Oyster card and had to pay over £40 in seven days to travel, while I waited for a replacement. This was on top of paying the initial £82.20 for a four-week Oyster card and I will not be reimbursed.
I reported that I’d lost my card on the 6th December. It wasn’t until I asked that I was told that for the first five days (expected for delivery) Oyster does not reimburse travel costs.
They said that it used to be policy that they reimbursed travel costs in that time, but this has changed. This, to me, sounds like an additional revenue stream for them. Also it appears that no-one on London Underground is aware of the new policy as all Underground staff told me that I’d be reimbursed in full.
Seven days after reporting, I had still not received my card. I was told they could send out another one, which could take just as long and would involve them cancelling the one in transit. They couldn't courier one to me at my own expense as the Oyster cards are held in Ireland. They don't send them out recorded delivery, so there is no security and you can’t get replacements at a station, apparently because of data protection.
This was never the case with the original paper travel cards, so I think it would be fair to say that Oyster are using peoples' misfortune as a profit making exercise.
I find it so annoying!
If 5 million Londoners are each forced to pay a £3.00 "deposit" for their Oyster Card, some clever bastard's just made the easiest £15,000,000.00 ever!
It's a "deposit" they'll never see again unless they leave London- which, believe me, I fully intend to do a.s.a.p. Daylight robbery! This country is taking the piss out of it's citizens-big time!
Rip off Britain just ain't worth it! See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!
I love this blogger and I'm glad I'm not the only one who is frustrated with it. The oyster system is very stupid, if you use DLR with tube in your single journey and that you touched in and out four times as you suppose to do then you will be charged twice becuase the stupid system just could not work out this is a single jouney and is as simple as changing from central line to circle line where you would not expect to pay twice.
I am currently infuriated with this oyster rip off nonsense. I've topped up my newly acquired 'pay as you go' card twice this week;
The first £10 got me a return from twickenham to kensington (which should be about £5)
Then the card must have emptied itself as to use the card once more i needed to put another £10 on for one more rail journey. Ive just done one bus journey this morning and the card is empty again.
So £20 for 3 short tube/rail journeys and getting on a bus a couple of times.
Very cunning plan on Red Ken's part. Deter cash fare payers by tripling prices over a couple of years, then force them to use poorly designed and shoddy technology which rips people off willy nilly. Sounds a bit like the congestion charge really.
What the hell was wrong with using cash anyway? Its worked for the last 2 thousand years here. But perhaps it was too easy for the public to see when they were being ripped off...
I need my 18+ by monday or i will end up paying an adult fare. I have been calling them for three bloody days trying to find out why my credit cards details are not being accepted(i used it a million times before) so i can finally submit my application. None of the advisors help me, half the time don't call back and basically keep on switching me between the lines???? what the hell?? if something is wrong with you F sustem why should i waste my time here on you stupid lines which charge for calling by the way.
oyster cards are a huge rip off! i thought for a while that i have been over charged for journeys so i started to pay close attention. On one journey i was over charged after it said i didnt touch in which would have been physically impossible unless the barrier opened by magic. Ah and then you get the fun of trying to reclaim the money back which they make as difficult as possible so people give up. They are making fools of inocent people and raking in millions with this scam. Its a huge scam and needs to be exposed! I have noticed from friends these "mistakes" seem to happen mostly to people who top up over £40, i guess they think they will not notice as much if a couple of quid goes missing here or there. CRIMINALS
I agree Oyster is useless.
I travelled from Ruislip Gardens to Notting Hill Gate on a Saturday (zone 6- 2) - should have cost me £1. It cost me £4.
When I went to the completely stupid bald headed ticket assistant at Notting Hill Gate he told me that at Ruislip Gardens I didn't touch in. And he showed me on the screen that I had come from Ruislip Gardens.
I then asked him how the computer knew that I came from Ruislip Gardens if I didn't touch in there and he says that it just does!!!!
He was completely thick- a real jobsworth who obviously could not see that he was talking absolute rubbish.
Oyster is the biggest con ever and something needs to be done about it. Also I think the London Underground staff need to receive a lot more training on how to empathise with the ripped-off customers.
I know it is not their fault but their attitude is generally awful- and as they receive free travel they obviously do not care about the general public who are forced to pay for this terrible service!
Yes Oyster Is A Rip Off
There are many instances where you can be charged £4.00 even when you have already exceeded the daily travel card charge. The most common is where you accidentally go through the barrier on someone else’s card (because your card does not work but someone touches their card and pushes you through - there is therefore no record of you coming out of the system). The next one is where you go through the child and luggage gates (or the DLR readers)and the reader does not work properly. Another is when the card doesn’t work at all (the technology is shit).
It does mean unfortunately that you have to check your balance after every journey.
I can’t think what it must be like for tourists. I took this up with a very nice gentleman who worked for the underground (I won’t say which station) and he agreed with me even topping up my card by £4.00 because of a missed touch out. He told me that staff were forced to sell oysters to tourists rather than sell them daily travel cards. He felt very guilty because invariably they did not know how to use the system and a few days later came back with no money on their oyster.
To be fair to Oyster if you have been charged £4.00 you can usually phone up and they will refund but it takes a couple of days. But in terms of time and effort the whole system really is a joke (a bad one).
Ken brought in the congestion charge and it has does nothing but ruin peoples lives (I’m talking about the businesses in the charge zone). Oyster is the same – its complete bollocks and we never asked for it.
My oyster card has been stolen and I can't get through on the bloody phone line. I refuse to wait more than 10 fucking minuets.
What a piss take.
not a surprise anymore!
Can't believe they can't fix... or maybe they just want to.
They are making millions with this:
Here's my story!
http://live-travel4free.blogspot.com/2009/05/oyster-card-refundswarnings.html
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