I wonder what % of people don't pay to justify the inconvenience of trying to force a hundred of so people through just 2 barriers and presumably the extra cost of having someone manning the barrier since I'm guessing it can't just be whoever is in the ticket office. Guess I'll just have to make a mental note to come back once the station is unmanned and they open the gates so that it's quicker to get out. :p
So far as having PAYG goes, it will be great but I'm not surprised the rail companies didn't want it. They currently charge far more for an extension ticket than a Tube one costs and since you can't buy them at the ticket machine, you have to queue for them. I'll admit that there are occasions on a Sunday where I go down intending to buy one but after hanging around in a queue, the train comes and I just don't bother since I know I'll get out at the other end with my zone 2 ticket and there's no way I'm hanging around 30 minutes for the next train because someone in the queue in front of me is confusing the ticket seller by buying something that's not a simple return to x.
And I thought it was Ken's legacy that meant we were going to have to wait to 2010. Didn't Boris make a fuss about his success in getting them to do it earlier?