As the prospect of building-site volley ball and the 30m doggy paddle at the Hackney municipal pool looms ever larger for London's 2012 Unfinished Olympics, the real fear must be how on earth all these millions of spectators are going to get there to watch.
Because, I can reveal, London's transport network ain't up to it - as any of this morning's commuters will testify.
One faint glimmer of justice for long-suffering London workers lies in the refund scheme. If your Tube journey is delayed by more than 15 minutes your can reclaim a £4 voucher towards future travel. If you paid by Oyster card you make a £2 profit. It soon adds up and the vouchers can be used by you or your family on London Underground and on trains coming in to London. Claim yours now at...
Apologies to people living outside London but there's plenty more money to be reclaimed.
Can you then put it towards an annual travelcard? I buy a ticket from TfL precisely once per year.
Posted by: Seamus McCauley | 01/28/2008 at 14:48
Hi Seamus,
Yes. The vouchers are valid for 13 months from issue. They are fully transferable so you can give them to whoever you like and you can use them as part-payment for your annual ticket.
If you buy your annual ticket online you'll need to submit your vouchers separately.
For example to: Trainline.com Limited, Season Tickets, the Matrix, 9 Aldgate High Street, London. EC3N 1AH.
There's an argument here that you're taking money from the system that can ill-afford it and could otherwise be used towards improving the service. But where companies prefer or are forced to spend more on marketing and idiotic feel-good schemes than providing the service in the first place you should take full advantage. It's how they'll learn.
If you use London Underground every day I'd calculate that you'll have least one valid claim a fortnight - a conservative estimate. That's £100 off next year's ticket.
Posted by: Richard | 01/29/2008 at 12:04
He's right - the feeling of getting £4 back from them makes a delay a lot less painful.
When TFL makes the Oyster system fair, perhaps I'll leave it to reinvest my £4. But for as long as it shuts ticket windows, refuses to put message boards on every platform, charges £1.50 for short journeys and unfairly targets tourists, I'm having mine back.
Posted by: Simon L | 02/20/2008 at 16:12