General News

One way system updates

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Finsbury Park: A semi permanent EOSI has been set up so that NR to LU journeys should now be joined together.  I’m told that this arrangement is expected to last until October at the earliest. Woolwich Arsenal: Disappointingly I noticed that the connection between NR and DLR was closed again last night.  I hope that … Read more

Child Fare Changes

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Ever since the announcement that the bailout of TfL during lockdown came with conditions, including the end of free travel for under 18s, there has been an enormous amount of misinformation pedalled by media and politicians.  The LibDems started a campaign to reverse the changes despite the fact that they still haven’t been actioned.  The i-news explained how children up to 15 enjoyed free travel on the tube – oh no they don’t!  My London also believed that the changes had already been made, and I’m sure many other news outlets fell for the same poor journalism.

The facts are that as usual with this incompetent government, an idea was put forward and agreed without any understanding of the complexity involved in implimenting it. 

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Overcharging at Woolwich Arsenal

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It’s been brought to my attention that the connection between the NR station and DLR station at Woolwich Arsenal has been closed since June 16th. Passengers wishing to change between the two stations have to exit one and walk along the street to the other entrance. Of course touching out and back in again causes … Read more

Aldgate – Aldgate East OSI

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After goodness knows how many suggestions TfL have finally given in and implemented a new OSI between Aldgate and Aldgate East Underground stations.  There is a little confusion about the start date – it was either today (14th) or Tuesday (16th), so I’ll add it to the list on Tuesday to be safe.  The allowance … Read more

Free child fares and freedom pass rules

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There has understandably been a lot of media interest in the instruction from government telling TfL to abandon free bus travel for under 18s.  Unfortunately some sections of the media seem to think that it’s happened already.  It hasn’t.  TfL are currently in discussions with the DfT about how it can be implimented and what … Read more

Capping to Reading, Luton Airport etc

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Last month (April 20th) TfL quietly switched on capping for contactless only stations.  I say quietly because with only essential travel being undertaken at the moment it is unlikely that anyone is actually reaching the caps.  They also confirmed that since January 2nd 2020 anyone who exceeded the relevant caps from those stations will have received an automatic refund.

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Mayor seeks reversal of under 18 fares

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has written to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, asking him to reconsider the instruction to remove free bus travel from under 18s.  The letter has been made public and is reproduced here.

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Buses to start charging again

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TfL has begun insisting that people touch in when making bus journeys again.  From today, those using single door buses and the new Routemaster ‘Boris’ buses which have readers by the middle door will be expected to validate their Oyster or contactless card or device.  Other two door buses will follow once modifications to the … Read more

Season ticket refunds

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At the beginning of the lockdown the government relaxed the rules about refunding season tickets.  This meant that you could backdate your claim back to the last day you used the ticket and that the admin fee would be waived. TfL are following these rules for refunds of travelcards stored on Oyster cards, but the … Read more

Brief Updates

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While the government stipulates that only essential travel by key workers should be undertaken, there is not a lot going on to report here.  However, there are some things still happening and this is a summary of key points: London Buses are now centre door only to protect the driver from contact with passengers who … Read more