Robert Hampton

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10th March 2015

Smart? Arse
Posted by at 7.40pm | Liverpool, Trains | 1 response

Saveaway is Merseytravel’s off-peak travel ticket giving unlimited travel on buses, trains and ferries. For the princely sum of £5.10, you get a scratch card on which the day, month and year can be rubbed off using a coin (or a finger, if you don’t mind getting all the silvery scratch-off stuff underneath your nail). Generations of Merseysiders have learned the skill of sticking down the plastic cover without getting any lumps in it.

Scratch off Saveaway

It’s a simple, foolproof system. Go to your local corner shop and get a ticket. Maybe buy two or three and keep them in a drawer somewhere until you need them. No further hassle required. That’s probably why the basic format has remained unchanged for over 30 years, barring the occasional special edition like the short-lived All Day Saveaway and (I kid you not) the Pope John Paul souvenir Saveaway.

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23rd April 2012

Bare E-Central-s
Posted by at 11.59pm | Liverpool, Trains | No responses

Extract from Merseyrail map showing Central station crossed outSince moving to Aigburth, with its attendant Merseyrail station, in 2003, I’ve become quite accustomed to being whisked off into the centre of town in just 9 minutes. A total of 15 minutes door-to-door commute time? That’ll do nicely.

I think it’s the hallmark of a good service that you only notice when its not there. Over the nine years that I’ve been using the service, the problems have been rare but disruptive: a strike, a blizzard, a misbehaving sewer and, most significantly, a six week shutdown to work on the tunnel. By and large however, Merseyrail get on with it with quiet efficiency, taking me to work, the shops, days and nights out, or just delivering me to Lime Street to start a longer journey.

It’s fair to say that Merseyrail is almost as essential to me as oxygen or photos of Gareth Bale with no shirt. Now Liverpool Central has closed for six months, I feel like one of my legs has been chopped off – sure, I can still get about, but it’s not as easy as it was. I mean, come on: Moorfields is at least a five minute walk from Liverpool ONE!

At least Central went out in a blaze of glory at the weekend, with more people passing through its doors than it has ever had to cope with at any time in its existence.

Crowds at Liverpool Central station

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19th September 2011

Goo Goo G’ Joob
Posted by at 8.18pm | Liverpool, Trains | 1 response

Merseytravel Walrus CardIt’s hard not to be a fan of the Oyster Card. As I wandered around London during my recent visit, it was great not to have to worry about fishing for cash or accidentally travelling out of an arbitrarily-defined zone. Simply tap your card on the yellow pad and let the computers do the rest.

I think it’s safe to say that the introduction of Oyster was nothing less than a revolution in ticketing. With online and automatic topup options available, the days of queueing at ticket offices to pay public transport fares are a distant memory for most Londoners.

I have, therefore, been eagerly awaiting the long-threatened launch of Merseytravel’s equivalent technology. I was excited this summer by the sight of smartcard readers appearing on the ticket barriers at Merseyrail’s major stations for the use of bewildered pensioners travelling on free passes.

Until now though, it was not known when non-coffin dodgers would be able to get their hands on one. Well, the wait is over and the next phase of the rollout has begun. From today, commuters renewing their all-zone Trio ticket will not get the date-stamp-on-a-sticker which has been the standard issue for years. Instead, they will be issued with their ticket on a new Merseytravel-branded smartcard: Walrus.

Yes, Walrus.

I’m not quite sure what the thinking is: I think it’s an attempt to continue the sea-based theme (after Hong Kong’s Octopus and Oyster), as well as enabling a slew of “I am the Walrus” puns. Yes, it’s Liverpool, so it has to be the fucking Beatles again. At least the marketing people came up with something slightly more imaginative than Ticket to Ride.

Merseytravel have a nice little web site about the card complete with a video which tries really hard to sell the branding. It nearly won me over with “Walrus in your wallet”, but by that point I was already annoyed by the narrator talking about topping up the card, “or feeding the Walrus as I like to call it.” (aargh!)

I have plenty of time to get used to the name: if the rollout plan is adhered to, I (as a monthly season ticket holder) won’t get my hands on a Walrus until Autumn 2012. The final phase – Oyster-style pay-as-you-go – will not be completed until 2013.

I will grudgingly admit to liking the design of the card, with the Walrus “tusks” which also bring to mind the livery design on the outer ends of Merseyrail trains.

It’s surely going to be a great boon to the travelling public. But oh, the name!

31st December 2009

2009? More like Woo! Thousand and Nine!

Was this year an exciting way to say goodbye to the decade? Here’s a reminder of what happened on planet Hampo this year (part 2, hopefully, follows tomorrow):-

January started out with one of my favourite shows being revived. Despite being up against EastEnders and being hosted by Ben Shepherd, the Krypton Factor did well enough to be recommissioned for a second series. We found out Who would replace David Tennant, and a year later we still haven’t actually seen him in the role. ITV’s latest attempt to ape the success of Doctor Who was Demons which failed spectacularly; the only creative thing about it being the number of different excuses the writers found for Christian Cooke to remove clothing.

In the wider world, various eras were drawing to a close, as Woolworths closed its doors, Tony Hart kicked the bucket and Dubya left office. Meanwhile, yours truly had an enjoyable night in London Theatreland.

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17th November 2009

Sitting at the railway station, got a ticket to my destination…
Posted by at 1.28pm | Trains | No responses

The Government has released a new list ranking train stations, and look at the results:-

1. Manchester Victoria

9. Liverpool Central

Yet again Liverpool trails behind its fellow city. Manchester gets everything, we’re left behind…

Oh wait, this is a survey of the worst stations in the country. I can’t really argue with Central‘s placement on the list: when you’re forced to push your way past throngs of people on a platform that’s just too narrow, it’s the worst possible advert for Merseyrail that there could be.

The amazingly-named Lord Adonis is on a whistle-stop tour of the top ten today, visiting Liverpool Central to open the new MtoGo shop there. This being the era of Web 2.0 and all that, he is blogging about his day on the Department for Transport web site. I look forward to reading his thoughts.

The good news is that the Government has committed to upgrade the worst stations, which is ironic in the case of Liverpool Central, as Merseytravel have already tried for several years to get funding and have been knocked back.

1st August 2009

Adventures in Public Transport, Part XXXI
Posted by at 7.24pm | It's My Life | No responses

Today was the Woodvale Rally, and I was supposed to be there representing Friends of the 502 Group.

No car, but that’s no problem. Yours truly knows his way around public transport, even more so thanks to Merseytravel’s web site which has PDF timetables for every bus in Merseyside. Seriously, it’s a fantastic resource, because each timetable has a little map showing the full route, so even if you’re unfamiliar with the area, you know where you are.

So: train to Hillside, walk to home of person who had event tickets for me, then number 49 to Woodvale. Simples! I even bought my Saveaway the day before to save time.

Train arrived on time at Hillside (or “Bootle Oriel Road” as the automated announcer insisted on calling it). This was where things started to go a bit wrong.

As I got off the train, it started raining. Really heavily. I walked along the main road for a few minutes, getting soaked, before it dawned on me that my usually reliable sense of direction had deserted me and I had no idea where I was.

Stopping in a bus shelter a few minutes later to consult my map (something I should really have done before I started walking) I realised that I would need to go almost all the way back to the station. Bah.

Now on the right road I saw a corner shop and — having forgotten to bring any beverages with me, and forewarned that refreshments at Woodvale are expensive — I went in to buy a bottle of water. Having already been delayed, I was held up further by a man paying for his Daily Mail using 2p coins.

I left the shop and strolled along the road, putting my change in my pocket next to my Saveaway. Or rather, where my Saveaway had been until a few minutes ago. Where was it now?

Fuuuck.

I really didn’t want to lose my ticket now. I had two bus rides and another train journey ahead of me. I didn’t hold out much hope of finding it, but I decided to retrace my steps. Walking past the corner shop and back the way I came — hurrah! There it was on the ground near the bus shelter.

I picked up the now soggy ticket, sandwiched it between two sheets of card to try and flatten it out, and walked back, passing the same corner shop for the third time.

I finally arrived, late and damp, having learned the hard way to invest in clothes with zip-up pockets.

(worth it in the end though! Check out the Class 502 homepage for more info!)

25th March 2009

Yes We Can… travel to Nottingham from Liverpool South Parkway
Posted by at 7.46pm | Trains | 1 response

And the award for most contrived use of a Barack Obama quote goes to… Merseytravel, for their ad in the current issue of RAIL magazine:-

Merseytravel Advert from Rail Magazine (Issue 614)

13th July 2008

B-oyster-ous
Posted by at 4.33pm | Trains | No responses

Thousands of people using London’s public transport network may find their electronic Oyster card no longer works after a fault hit the system.[BBC]

This is why I’m glad Merseytravel haven’t introduced smartcards yet. All I have to worry about with a Saveaway is sticking the plastic cover down without leaving a little lump in it. God bless you, oh lottery-scratchcard-like travel pass!

20th February 2008

Go Greener, Go Cheaper, Go… Merseyrail?
Posted by at 9.00pm | Out and About | No responses

One of the best things about living in Liverpool is that green spaces are readily and cheaply accessible by public transport. For the princely sum of £2.10 return (with Railcard discount), I was able to jump on the train to Hoylake and spend the afternoon in Red Rocks Marsh Nature Reserve. I was almost put off by the freezing weather in the morning, but by the time I got there at about 1pm the sun was out and it was quite pleasant, although the unmelted ice was crunching under my feet as I walked along the beach.

I found out about this thanks to Merseytravel who put out several leaflets about exploring the Merseyside area by public transport. This one is called Walk&CycleAbout Wirral Peninsula and can be downloaded from the web site. Alternatively get a printed copy from any Merseyrail station or Merseytravel shop.

On the cards for when the weather warms up is the Wirral Country Park. Last time I attempted to walk the whole length of this path, I got lost in the amusingly-named village of Gayton and had to abandon the trip.