The Excellent Italian Rail Ticket Machines
Buying rail tickets in Italy is easy and it is true to say, I’ve never failed to buy a ticket, when I needed one.
They are very easy to read and navigate and work in several languages. Here’s a picture of a machine working in English.
The Excellent Italian Ticket Machine
One big difference between Italian machines and those in say Germany or Sweden, is that when you change the language, they change the destination names. Note how Genoa in this screen is shown as the English spelling.
I suppose it helps that Italian is a language which uses a pure Roman alphabet like we do, with no accents, umlauts or cedillas.
Ticket machines should use plain characters to help tourists.
Full Function Ticketing On The Overground
As I came up the stairs at Dalston Junction station, this morning, I thought the ticket machines at the station had been updated for ticket collection.
Full Function Ticketing On The Overground
So after I’d bought my ticket to return from Sheffield on Saturday on-line, I visited the station and picked it up. Not only does the updated machine deliver on-line tickets, but you can buy a ticket to any station in the country.
A similar machine is in operation at Dalston Kingsland station, but not at Highbury and Islington station.
This development will make some of the journeys I do a lot easier, as I now have a convenient place to pick up on-line tickets.
Often big improvements can be made to travel, by doing small improvements all over the place. I suspect, this was just a software change.
To And Around Vasteras
I then took the train from Stockholm to Vasteras, so that I could meet up with the rest of the party and the guide at Vasteras Airport.
The trip was totally without incident and after getting a bus to the airport, we all met up easily.
The only problem I had, was buying a ticket for the bus, which needed to be paid for with coins. Surely, it’s time we had a Europe-wide ticketing standard, so that buying bus tickets is easy.
All London Underground Ticket Offices To Close
This claim is being made by the trade unions in London and it’s reported here on the BBC.
Except for main line stations, you rarely see anybody at the ticket offices. But then they can be busy, as this post shows.
So just on my personal observation, there seems to be a need for some reorganisation of the ticket offices.
One of these could be making sure that passengers arrive in London with a ticket for the Underground.
Modern Railways this month also had an editorial about the rows that are about to happen, when trains in London go for driver-only operation.
I think there is going to be a lot of argument in the next few years.
But honestly, when was the last time you visited a ticket office on the Underground to buy a ticket?
I think I bought an Oystercard about four years ago. I’ve bought one since and that was from a machine.
Rescued By Eurostar
I hadn’t got a ticket for Eurostar, as let’s face it, what good would it have done me, as I didn’t turn up in Brussels at a date and a time, remotely near anything I could have expected.
So when my number was called after a wait of a few minutes, I approached the ticket counter with more than a little apprehension. After my luck, I fully expected to be told that as it was a Friday and the start of the school holidays, that no seats were available until Tuesday at the earliest.
But the pleasant lady smiled broadly, like air hostesses do in adverts, except that she meant it, and said she could get me on a train in an hour for €190. Expensive, but then it was a last-minute walk-up and what else could I do, as I can’t swim? I then asked how much Premium Economy was and she said €204. So I paid the extra fourteen euros and within an hour I was on my way back to Blighty. Incidentally booking now for next Friday, I’d save somewhere around £80.
On the train, I got a fulsome apology for not being served a gluten-free meal, but I knew that to get one, you have to book in advance. But at least the food was infinitely better than the rubbish you get on German trains, where gluten is compulsory in all snacks.
The train had a very unusual passenger.
A Very Unusual Passenger
The balloon was tied to a child’s buggy. It did give one of the stewards a bit of a fright, as he came through the door.
I was of course, on time in London. But let’s face it, Eurostar have one great advantage. With the exception of the Channel Tunnel and various junctions, it is a virtually straight line largely under their control. So could we expect that HS2 will be a more reliable railway than the West Coast Main Line? I think the answer will be yes!
Buying My Ticket To Copenhagen
The Swedish ticket machines appeared to be very comprehensive, but trying to buy the ticket to Copenhagen was very difficult, so in the end I queued up and bought it from a person, who was very helpful and spoke English better than myself.
Swedish Ticket Machines
My first problem, was that like the touch screens in IKEA at Edmonton, my fingers had the wrong dampness to make them work. But by changing to another machine, I was able to work the system.
Then I found the problem, that turned me towards buying a ticket from a person. Although, I was using the machine in English, the place names were still in Swedish. How many of those who speak English as a first language, know how to spell Copenhagen in Swedish.
I’ve always felt that every town or city, should only have one name and those that live there should choose it. That way, we would probably all know the town names that didn’t confuse.
Free Travel For Children Cuts Road Injuries
This story in the Standard tells how in London, giving children and teenagers free Oyster travel cards, has cut the number involved in road accidents. The research was performed by the reputable London School or Hygiene and Tropic Medicine and as it is published in a learned journal, it surely is to be trusted.
Just as those over a certain age get free bus transport, this research surely says that all those under a certain one should too! In London the eligibility is stated here for what is called a Zip Oyster. it also gives child fares on the Underground, Overground and the DLR
I’ve Just Joined The Tate
I want to go to the Tate to see the exhibition called Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life.
To avoid the queues for this sort of exhibition, pre-booking is a good idea. But as I might want to go with someone, what day do I choose?
On checking the Tate website, I found that if I joined as a Member+Guest, it only cost me me thirty pounds more than joining for just myself. And you get to jump the queues!
So I did! So I only need to go to a few exhibitions with friends, often from outside London, to make the whole exercise extremely good value. As in the past, I’ve gone to several exhibitions at the Tate, with both C and friends, I doubt that the membership won’t be used profitably.
The Advantage Of Properly Integrated Systems
I don’t use an Oyster Card for my meanderings around London, as I have a Freedom Pass, which gives me everything except the cable-car free.
But this advert on the Overground caught my eye.
Oyster Advert On The Overground
When I used an Oyster Card, I suspect, I didn’t always touch out, so it probably cost me a few pounds in total.
So if I read this correctly, if you don’t touch out and you’ve registered the card, you will be told you’ve got a refund. That in itself, will probably mean that you will probably be more careful about touching out.
Remember that Oyster is one of the main ways, that Transport for London, determine the real journeys done by passengers. So removing the touch out error, means they will have better data to plan the network.
This looks like a classic application of the nudge principle.
A Pretty Well Organised Tourist City
On arriving in the centre of Geneva, I needed to find my way to the hotel, I’d booked at a very good rate.
The tourist office was a short walk towards the river and I got one of the best free maps, I’ve ever got from such a place. I’ve even be charged for an awful map in some places.
I actually walked to my hotel in the Old City, which wasn’t that far. One of the reasons for walking was that I knew hotels were supposed to give you a free travel ticket, for whilst you were in the city.
It was a bit cold, but a pleasant walk and I crossed one of the many bridges of the Rhone.
The Rhone At Geneva
Admittedly, I had to climb up to the hotel, but despite my problems, I managed it well. I took this picture from the top on the Saturday morning.
The Climb To The Hotel
This shows the advantage of travelling light, as I always do.
Note however the maps and signposts grouped together. Geneva is a well-mapped city and others could do worse, than follow Geneva’s example.
Incidentally the first thing I got from reception in the hotel along with the room key, was a Geneva Transport Card, valid from Friday until Sunday. You even get them if you are camping, rather than in a five star hotel as I was!
Here’s what the Visit Geneva web site says.
When you stay in a hotel, a youth hostel or at a campsite, you receive free of charge a Geneva Transport Card. Taking the tram, the bus and the train on Geneva territory will not cost you a penny. You even can cross the lake with the yellow taxi-boats for free.
This personal and non-transferable card is offered to you at arrival. During your stay in Geneva, you can use the entire Geneva transport network (UNIRESO: bus and tram (TPG), train (CFF) and taxi-boats (Mouettes Genevoises).
If you arrive at Geneva International Airport, you can get a 80-minute ticket free of charge for a ride to the place of your accommodation. The ticket machine is in the luggage retrieval hall.
The map I have, also points out the location of some of the large free museums in the city.
The Anonymous Widower 