AIBU for getting the rage at people who walk through the (open) barrier?

[CustardLover]

My local tube station (London Zone 3) has only got two little gates which means that when the herd piles off the trains at 6.30/7, there are queues on the platform to get through. This means that the gates are often left open, although the scanner still registers your oyster card / travel card.

Now, as users of London Underground will know, if you fail to check out again after checking in at the beginning a journey, LU will default bill your card for the maximum possible journey price, even if you're not liable for it, so even though the gates are open, most people still want to scan themselves out, hence the queues.

So far, so annoying for us all. However, the thing that drives me batshit crazy is when we're all politely (and yet clearly tired and annoyed after a day at work and having to shuffle these tiny, slow beeping gates) taking our turn, some arseholes just ignore the queue and walk straight through, without scanning. No skin off my nose you might think, if they have a travelcard / didn't scan in / don't care about paying more then whatever. HOWEVER, when someone walks through the barrier like that, it freezes the scanner for the next person - the light goes red and you have to wait a beat of two seconds (which feels like 20 minutes with the bubbling crowd behind you) to then scan your card and proceed. Sometimes, while you're waiting for the light to go amber again, another joker walks through AGAIN and sets it off.

Obviously, I am terribly British and never say anything, perhaps occasionally tut under my breath, but AIBU to want to run after those people, grab them by the lapels and scream 'WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SO BLOODY SPECIAL? Do you think the rest of us like queuing? That's we're too stupid to see that the gates are actually open? YOU FROZE THE SCANNER YOU SELFISH LITTLE PRICK.'

Or should I just go on holiday?

I used to work in a london station and can clarify that the older style of gates (which are most likely what you are talking about as most of the tube still has these) DO NOT have motion sensors. i'm not sure about the newer model but i doubt they do.,.. can you imagine how much maintenance they would need if they had motion sensors!? seriously, they are not sophisticated computers...

oops hazy memory alert- there is the sensor which prevents the paddles closing on people but this is all disabled if the gates are opened.

They think it is a queue to use the scanner, which they don't need to do.

You think it is a queue to go through the gate, so they are queue jumping.

They are not being selfish, they are being ignorant (in the classical sense of "not knowing something").

In the same way that someone who tells you an untruth may not be "lying", they might be "mistaken".

Yy to the pp who mentioned the taxi rank at the back of waterloo station. The whole thing appears delibrately designed to induce commuter rage.

So according to banana who has inside info, it isn't people walking through that causes any delay on the oyster thingy OP.

I knew it didn't make sense

Walks off thread muttering.......

Someone has to tell me what's up with the taxi rank at waterloo

please

forgot my manners then

Last time I was in the Waterloo taxi queue, there were people in line, taxis in line, but only one set of passengers can get into a taxi at a time at the head of the barriers. Maybe two.

I have current info about the wide access gates at tube stations. The gates have the capability for passengers to enter or exit, so if there is a pause in Oyster cards or tickets being used to exit, the amber "ready" light will briefly flip to the entry side in case anyone is waiting to touch in. The gates aren't being timed out as such, they are designed to work in entry/exit mode simultaneously.

OP You are dead right. I am no angel but I wait to scan my Freedom Pass: which defines my age and I hope my manners.

I go through Paddington every morning and evening and have never noticed this. In the morning, the big barrier tends to be open, so the people with paper tickets, like me, can just walk through. If you have an oyster, why not use the other barriers?

Taxi derail: but there's more than one line. And it's not well marked. And everyone glares, even if you do it right.

I think this is possibly the weirdest thread I have ever read on MN.

I live in London, travel to a Zone 3 station, the gates are always open, I touch in and touch out when it is my turn as I have a Pay-as-you-go card.

Lots of people waltz right past me without touching in or out. Either because they have forgotten, they have a paper travelcard or a weekly/monthly pass on their Oyster.

I have never NEVER seen the scanner freeze

I think you are imagining things OP.

And yes, you need a holiday and/or to consider moving out of London imho.

What does give me the rage though is my daily commute to Victoria.

I switch over to the district/circle line and there are the blimming tourists with their massive rucksacks on their backs blocking the top of the stairs down to the platform as they gormlessly stare at the board trying work out how to get to Sloane Square or Richmond.

Then I tut and seethe

I'm a Londoner and I'm in a hurry... Move out of my flipping way!

Perhaps I also need a holiday or to move out of London...

Nutcracker Oh yes, the bottom/top of the stairs puddlers. On the live rail with them!

Nutcracker
I don't commute any more but still go to London every few weeks and the biggest annoyance to me is the people standing waiting for the lights to change outside Liverpool Street station when nobody has pushed the button!

bruffin

Yes, London is a funny old place isn't it.

YABU
..as are all of you London grouches. I travel to RCS on Regents park or Harley Street regularly and walk as it's only 10/15 mins from StP. Not one local person smiles. I've made it my morning task to smile at every sullen faced capital dweller I can. Only the tourists ever smile back.
You'll all die of the stress if you don't lighten up a bit!!
If those of us who use the roads in the Provinces are rushing about we get told to slow down, leave the house 10 mins earlier, never speed etc. People in London using public transport would do well to take the same advice!

Two seconds? Two seconds? YABU.

Well said mombi have just been to london for 6 days. The amount of people who deliberately barge into you is awful and so many people were rude. I get that it's where people live and work but is it really necessary to actually barge through people instead of saying excuse me?

You know what, perhaps the no communication thing is a self defence against a day in day out, breach of personal space. A mutual pretence that no one else is there so we can all gain a bit of mental head space in the crush of rush hour. So we don't go insane with rage that our noses are jammed up to someone's hip for 30mins for instance.

Then some bugger comes right into your face and shouts 'smile love, stop being so miserable!'

Fuck.Right.Off.

That guy I did snarl back that I'd had a migraine all day and I'd look as miserable as I liked. He looked shocked. I don't think he'd considered that people geniunely have bad days.

But I do say excuse me as I slip through. It just a massive crush!

Not one person who barged into us said excuse me. I live in a tourist area. I know it is hard when you get an influx of visitors but really there is no need to be rude.