Oyster vending machines are a nuisance on the stations. They regularly swallow customers' money and staff have no way of retrieving it as the machines are all run by a private company.
So we welcomed the news that they were being decommissioned.
But there is a catch. Work will soon begin to enhance ticket machines (AFMS) to sell Oyster cards as well.
Maybe too many customers have complained about their inability to buy Oysters when ticket offices are closed. But is LU likely to invest in expensive technology after listening to customers' wishes? More likely, it spells future plans to nibble away at more ticket sellers' jobs. They are trying to replace ticket sellers with machines entirely.
As union members, we may have lost the first round on job cuts. But reorganisation will be an almost constant feature on LU for the coming years. We need to keep fighting to save our jobs every step of the way.
