Buses

So it's goodbye 369 and - as far as Barking is concerned - goodbye 179. And hello EL1 and EL2, which we were told were not buses but East London Transit. For anyone who is confused, these stop at bus stops and charge bus fares and are counted as buses on the TfL journey planner.

TfL has neglected to include these changes in its snazzy interactive on line bus maps and it doesn't help that if you check for "disruptions", the system tells you that either the route doesn't exist or there are no disruptions. I don't know about you, but a route not existing is kind of a disruption to me, especially when it existed OK yesterday.

The road to nowhere

The only thing apparently stopping the road to nowhere (from Town Quay to Jenkins Lane, alongside A406) is the site gate which was still locked across the road. The development seems to be finished and the road doesn't have the protrusion into it that was previously there. The 'No entry except buses' signs are still there.

There is a site fence across the riverside path, but the completed path can be seen through it going for some yards. I can't remember if this was there before the site was fenced off for the new development.

Brompton M3L 2008 (Black/Silver) for sale

I am selling my August 2008 Brompton M3L on e-bay. See http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150411469478&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT as I have just bought a new one.

Key features include 18% reduced gearing (£70 on a new 2010 bike) brand new pedals (MKS FD-6 folders), saddle (Brompton) and seat post, Schwalbe Marathon plus tyres (c 1 yr old) and roller skate type yellow transit wheels instead of the rather tacky Brompton black plastic ones.

New Salisbury Avenue signposted cycle route

A sign has been installed at the Barking end of Salisbury Avenue, indicating a cycle route to Upney Station. There's a sign at the Upney ebd too, indicating 'Barking', but I'm not sure how visible it is from Upney Lane.

The problem is that the LCN signs in Upney Lane are based on the principle of which way to go to certain places using LC routes. According to them, the route to East Ham is not via Salisbury Avenue, but via Faircross.

Similarly the route to Romford goes in the other direction down Upney Lane. It's all very well signposting where network routes go if they go their directly, but no-one is going to go to Romford by the LCN route if it takes them miles out of the way as well as down main roads.

Poor service at Upney station

I went to Upney station at about 11.30 on a weekday (as I was passing) to get a couple of customer charter refunds put on my Oyster Card. There was one member of staff doing nothing in particular, so I thought if I stood by the ticket window he would come and serve me. There were no other customers. There was, though, another staff member in the ticket office, who, instead of serving me pointed out that the ticket office was closed, even coming out to show me the sign saying that it was closed, telling me that I could buy a ticket from the machine (though I had told him why I was there) and repeating several times that I could be served the next morning (no good to me).

This is very poor customer service - it would have been easier and quicker to serve me than to take all that time telling me that he couldn't.

I'm quite happy getting things from the internet or machines, but if that's not possible, and staff are available, why couldn't they help me?

Abbey Green Consultation Week

Consultation about the re-ordering of Abbey Green in Barking's historic core continues, with a meeting, an exhibition and guided walks to discuss the project during the week of Saturday 23 - Friday 29 January.

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/East-London/Barking/IG11/In-Touch/Nature-and-Green-Spaces/151521-Last-chance-to-shape-Green%E2%80%99s-future

Has full details. If you can get along to put in a word for cycling, please do.

Oyster Extension Permits

From http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/oysteronline/13727.aspx#section-5

"If you want to travel beyond the zones covered by your Travelcard on National Rail services within London you must set an Oyster Extension Permit on your card before you travel. This means you will use pay as you go once you've gone outside the zone.

Oyster Extension Permits

* You can set your permit at any Tube or London Overground station ticket office or touchscreen ticket machine, Oyster Ticket Stops, some National Rail ticket offices or self-service ticket machines
* You only need to set an Oyster Extension Permit when you start a journey within the zones covered by your Travelcard and want to travel outside those zones on National Rail
* Only set your permit to your card just before you make your extension journey
* You must have at least £1.50 pay as you go balance on your Oyster card to set one
* A permit stays on your card until you touch out at the end of your journey
* When touching out, the permit will be cleared from your Oyster card and the fare for the extension journey will be deducted from your pay as you go balance"


From http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=509 (my emphasis)


When using a Travelcard and Oyster pay as you go together

If you are planning to use Oyster pay as you go on National Rail services in London but outside the Zones covered by your Travelcard, you may need to have an Oyster Extension Permit on your card before you travel. If you travel without an Oyster Extension Permit you may be liable to a Penalty fare or prosecution."

According to this, when I'm travelling via Fenchurch Street (ie on National Rail) using my Zone 3&4 travelcard for zones 3 & 4 and PAYG for zones 1 & 2, I must have (TfL) or may need (FCC) an OEP. I never needed one before and there's nothing at Barking warning people. I think the TfL info is wrong.

Please note the following important points about Oyster Extension Permits:

- An Oyster extension permit must be set on your Oystercard if you start your journey at a station where your Travelcard is valid.
- You must have a minimum pay as you go balance on your Oyster card to add one.
- Oyster Extension Permits can be set at any Tube or London Overground station ticket office or
touchscreen ticket machine; Oyster Ticket Stops; selected National Rail ticket offices or self-service ticket machines displaying the Oyster card reader logo.
- An Oyster Extension Permit remains on your card until you touch out at the end of your extension journey.
- When touching out at your destination station, the Oyster Extension Permit will be cleared from your Oyster card and the correct fare for the extension journey will be deducted from your pay as you go balance.