As cyber-attacks go, it could have been worse. In Nightsleeper, the new BBC thriller airing just after Transport for London revealed its systems had been breached, passengers are locked aboard as a train seized by hackers hurtles dangerously towards the capital. In real life, the troubles for TfL customers are far less dramatic. The actual physical transport services, the buses, trains and tubes – many of which are effectively remote-controlled – have been unaffected by its cyber-attack. But as TfL continues to tackle what it calls an ongoing incident – despite the recent arrest of a suspected perpetrator – the minor headaches are growing persistent.
I know, I suffer from one of them at the moment - one that's not mentioned here. Luckily, I found a helpful counter staff at my local who helped me top up my Oyster card at the machine on Thursday.
The impact on most consumers in the short term is they have less information; both in being able to check online journey histories or contactless payments, or view some live transport updates, now that TfL has cut feeds.
And it's rendered it impossible to top up your Oyster card online (which goes unmentioned as an issue here). But at least the 'Guardian' is writing about it...
A spokesperson said there was currently no date set for when this information would be accessible again, “but we can assure customers that once it is available they will be able to see their full journey history and correct any incomplete journeys or maximum fares.”
Because they don't know? Are they admitting that? It's only going to become a bigger and bigger issue the longer it goes on:
A potentially bigger issue is developing for those who now cannot apply for discount Oyster photocards, including children’s Zip cards and the 60+ pass. Although TfL has advised bus drivers to allow children to travel free without current ID, there is no solution for older children travelling alone to swipe in to the tube network for the discounted fares. With a 95p flat tube fare for 10-15-year-olds, travelling at full adult rate could, for a child regularly travelling to school, add up to hundreds of pounds extra by Christmas.
So why isn't this a bigger story? Is it because not enough journalists travel by public transport?
No one at TfL has yet put a date on the return of all systems.
It's an utter disgrace.
2 comments:
I was in the same room as my dear wife as she watched this tosh, Night Sleeper. It was an electric train.
How do you stop an electric train?
In the absence of The Wrong Sort Of Snow, empty a barrow load of leaves on the line.
Throw a damp rope over the catenery. If all else fails, pull the plug out.
Or say a hurty word to the ticket inspector.
For real railway engineers this must rank with Airplane.
"For real railway engineers this must rank with Airplane."
Glad I gave it a miss then! 'Showtrial', however, is well worth watching! Very topical.
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