Has TfL finally got its act together?

A two-minute delay on the tube yesterday caused by being held at a red signal did not cause me to miss my connecting train home to Hersham last night, which arrived on time, so I will make no charge despite the ineptitude.

This morning, the train arrived in Waterloo a minute early, though this was not enough to allow me to catch an earlier connecting tube to Edgware Road.  The intended (and travelled) tube arrived on time too, so there's no charge at all for this morning's commute either.  Has TfL finally got its act together?  Only time will tell...

What else is new today?  Well, my old journalist friend (though I'm sure he'll barely remember me, if at all) Jack Schofield reports through ZDNet that we may after all be able to pay for TfL transport through near field communications ticketing on our smart phones in the near future.  This is, of course, in complete contrast to previous mutterings by TfL that I have covered in the past.  Jack also gives an uncharacteristic and gratuitous plug to O2's TrainTravel smartphone app, which is essentially the Trainline app branded by O2 (i.e. you can buy tickets on the app but you still have to go and collect a paper ticket before travel).  Now, I'll admit I have a horse in this race, but that's a development that seems a complete waste of time to me, bringing as it does nothing new to the table.

Aside from that snide aside, it's pretty quiet today.  Anyone read any good books lately?

You win some, you lose some. And some try and kill you.

Yesterday: tube on time, train three minutes late: TfL owes me £7.50.

This morning: train two minutes early, tube on time, making me three minutes early to work this morning as I was able to catch an earlier tube than I otherwise would have.  Credit TfL's account by £7.50.  Net balance since yesterday: £0.

Also, London buses are involved on average in two incidents with cyclists or pedestrians every day.  I guess TfL's so busy trying to kill Londoners that it took its eye off the ball with respect to my habitual morning delays.

(Image credit: Simgallery)

Thanks to those of you who bore with us...

Another loooooong gap to mind in Signal Failure's engineering works update schedule: should have warned you all beforehand, but I was on holiday last week, helping my wife get the house ready for the arrival of our second child later this month.  As a consequence, I did no travelling on the tube or indeed other parts of the TfL network.

As you can imagine, it's been a busy day back at work after that brief (for me at least) hiatus, so this is just a quick update.

Last Thursday's (I work from home most Fridays, remember?) travel home from work saw a two-minute delay on the tube from Edgware Road to Waterloo, and the train to Hersham was also two minutes late.  Just two minutes overall for that journey as I didn't miss my intended connection.

This morning's train was two minutes late arriving at Hersham, but that's outside TfL's network so it doesn't count.  It had caught up a minute by the time it arrived at Waterloo, which was still a minute late but made no difference to the connecting tube I took.  And that arrived a minute early.

So, one minute overall since last Thursday morning, which gives just £2.50.  A slow week indeed!