From London Transport With Love y GILES PLAYFAIR
of note. Whether they be regarded as a promise or a Warning for the rest of London, seem worthy
CERTAIN 'improvements' are now on view at Turnham Green underground station which, I should imagine the station's regular cus- fters—and I speak as one of them--readily i°rgave 'any inconvenience caused' during the Protractedly suspenseful period of preparation. One assumed that modernisation was on its Way, and this was undoubtedly overdue. Per- 8"allY, I had a lingering affection for the manually operated contraption of wooden sign- posts that still served on the west-bound plat- form to announce the destination of incoming 'rains. But I was willing to agree that in these links of staff shortage it had outlived its useful- ness, except possibly as an attraction for over- seas tourists in search of British curiosities. More importantly, though, ticket sale arrange- illents were remarkably old-fashioned and inade- quate. I'm aware that at the busiest and most Modernised stations—Piccadilly Circus, for in- Mance the automatic ticket machines are apt, When approached, to be 'out of order' or 'not in use: But Turnham Green, though by no means the least busy of stations, did not enjoy even the problematic advantage of automatic ticket machines, because for some discriminatory reason none had ever been installed there. ,, Nreover, though its ticket office had two win- d°ws--a kind of status symbol, presumably— `e of these was permanently shut. Admittedly, t'll he queue at the other was, as such queues go, Seldom long, save during rush hour, when it extended to the road outside. But Turnham ("teen seems tb have more than its fair share of strangers to the underground system. In my ex- Perience at least, whoever happened to be 4PPIYing for a ticket, at any time of the day ('' night, was invariably somebody in need of Special guidance; and this, doubtless to the credit "„! the solitary clerk on duty, was abundantly °yen without scruple about keeping others waiting, it. In the circumstances. I should be surprised I were the only one of the regular customers
who developed the unlawful habit of going ahead without a ticket. There was nothing to stop one doing this--no risk of a protest (or worse) from some watchful guard. On occasion, indeed, it was a course which London Transport itself regret- fully advised passengers to pursue. For at times, 'due to staff shortage,' both windows of the ticket office were found shut.
I am not clear whether riding the underground without a ticket is an offence in itself, or merely pima fade evidence of one, but whichever the case I would ma:ntain that the Turnham Green passengers were, directly and indirectly, incited to commit it by their potential prosecutor. This being so, a psychologist might explain the 'improvements' which have actually been carried out at the station as an expression of unconscious self-hatred or guilt on London Transport's part. The result is certainly vengeful.
There are still no automatic ticket machines; and the wooden signposts on the west-bound platform remain. incidentally, intact. On the other hand, a larger and much posher ticket office has been erected, with four windows instead of two. The first sight of this might. I suspect, have provoked greater inward jubilation among the morning throng, if all four windows had been open for business. But, in fact, three of them had the 'closed' sign up. So far as I know, they have had it up ever since.
One might dismiss the new ticket office as a pointless extravagance, but for the fact that it serves, perfectly, if that is its purpose, to add insult to injury. For--and here is the true burden of the 'improvements'--two electronically controlled in- ward gates have been installed in order to pre- vent anyone without a ticket from reaching the platforms. Thus a passenger, whether .or not he was formerly law-abiding, is now punished.
He must not only stand in line to purchase a ticket, but must await his turn afterwards to have it examined through inserting it in a slot. He must also be careful, as he eventually passes through, to raise his brief-case and umbrella so as to avoid bringing them into contact with the gates, because their mechanism is evidently sensi- tive and easily upset. As a matter of fact, they have already broken down for lengthy periods more than once, despite the continual presence of a human guard, who keeps watch over them and stands ready to assist passengers who may have 'difficulty' in evoking their 'response. Still, it would be unwise to conclude from this that there's any hope of the things being discarded. Less sophisticated versions of them, according to London Transport's triumphantly printed notices, are in operation at three other stations. The Turnham Green gates are unique, because they have the capacity, by means of a separate slot, to deal with season as well as ordinary ticket holders. As a start, they are scrutinising
only weekly season tickets, and these, one is warned, must on no account be presented until
they have been removed from the 'case or cover- ing' in which, for convenience' sake, their owners may like to keep them. But, London Transport intimates, the Turnham Green gates are such a remarkable example of British techno- logical achievement that sooner or later they may be in a position to delay the progress of every passenger without exception.
Now I .question whether London Transport, for all this additional Infliction of pain on its honest customers, has gone as far as it might to defeat determined evaders of payment due. The cheats can, it is true, no longer hope to travel from Turnham Green to the most distant point on the underground system for as little as fourpence. But since a fourpenny ticket, which they may subsequently 'lose,' will presumably get them past the robot guard, they are still able to take as long a ride as they like for eightpence. I could recommend a more effective method of frustrating them. It is based on a practice which I once encountered on a visit to an American maximum-security prison. Every passenger, after purchasing his ticket, would have the rtame of the departure station stamped invisibly on his wrist (or other suitable part of his anatomy) and this could be read under an infra-red light by the guard at the arrival station.
Rather an elaborate, time-consuming proce- dure, of course; and the question remains whether the end, laudable though it may be in itself, justifies any such means. They hardly seem cont= patible with that intensification of movement, that general speeding-up of things which, politi- cians tell us. is so vital to Britain's future.
I am no economist, but if, as I assume, eco- nomic growth depends ultimately on human endeavour, then the fewer the avoidable stresses and strains of everyday life the better. In these circumstances, may I timidly suggest, a heavily subsidised, wildly generous public transport system, devoted to improving its services, might in the end prove a more valuable national invest- ment than one which, in the interests of paying its own way, has built up a record of charging more and more for less and less, and now appears increasingly bent on turning London travel into a physical and mental endurance test.