This is a collection of thoughts and statements about things that annoy me. I am a big, angry man. Hear me roar, or piss off and give me peace.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Scotrail ticket machines are Scheidt

Do you see what I did there?

I was in Stirling the other week, and on Monday was trying to leave.

At the station, they had two folk on the ticket desks, both occupied, and a queue of 3 people. War and Peace was being dictated at the right hand desk, and since I thought that given I had the exact change, I would rattle some money through the Scheidt & Bachmann ticket machine that was also in the ticket office...

I managed to get it to accept four out of the six pounds (and ninety pence) required.

After a few futile attempts at getting the heap of Scheidt, heh, to accept my money - all the usual tricks were tried - topspin, backspin, coins in fast, coins in slow... No joy. I had to rejoin the queue, and purchase a ticket at the desk.

What's the point of these machines if you can't get your ticket on time to get your train? surely being at the station nearly ten minutes before the departure, and not at peak time either.

Also, the user interface of the machine leaves a lot to be desired... I don't want a few default offerings (usually returns, or tickets to useful places, I want to tell the machine where I am going, and it offer me some fares. Just like you do when you speak to a conductor. A single from Stirling to Haymarket please. Simple. Gaaaaaah!