If I take the risk and don't tap, hoping to get my much deserved free ride from Transport for London, then what will happen if I get to the other end of my journey and the gates are shut! I won't be able to get out and I'll have to buy a full price ticket when I could have just tapped in at the start and tapped out at the end!
But if I tap and then the gates are open at the other end, I will have wasted money as I've got to tap out. I'll be charged for a journey I could have got for free and kick myself for tapping.
It's such a cruel game of chance of the Underground. What I really need is an informant at the stations I frequent to tell me in advance whether the gates are open or not, so I can make a much more educated decision on my tapping habits.
It's the morning commute and I KNOW that by catching the 9.49 train, it will pull into the platform in Euston where there are no barriers, where I wont need to tap to get out. The station I get on at has 'up to you Oyster readers', no gates, just casually positioned readers which offer you the chance to tap or not to tap.
Therefore, I KNOW I don't really need to tap in or out, because there is no automated gate system either end. But what if a ticket inspector gets on and checks my Oyster card and sees that I haven't paid for my journey! Then I'll receive a fine!
So do I take the risk? Do I not tap and save £3.40 but sit in a state of anxious panic the whole way, expecting the inspector's bellowing voice to penetrate my nervous mind at any second and risk a £20 fine. Or do I just pay and enjoy my journey in the comfortable knowledge that I am abiding by the TFL laws. But if an inspector doesn't come then I'll be frustrated for at least an hour and wish I'd just not tapped in or out!
AAAH commuting is a daily dilemma.
Peace out from the Elf in an Oyster x
The Spawn of Satan
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