please empty your brain below
Information on the website is sketchy, but is there anything to say the annual pass is not transferable?

timbo | 23.01.15 - 7:34 a.m. | #

I wonder if it'll get more regular commuters than the dangleway?

| 23.01.15 - 9:00 a.m. | #

@timbo - yes the terms and conditions state:
Tickets are intended for use by the purchaser/named person only and are non transferable.
You will be asked for identification (ID) to match the name on your ticket, if you are unable to provide matching ID, the Operator/Agent reserves the right to refuse entry. - seems fair enough to me.

Robbob | 23.01.15 - 9:33 a.m. | #

Fair enough, but the ever-increasing need to show ID along with a ticket is tiresome, and some would say oppressive.

diamond geezer | 23.01.15 - 9:38 a.m. | #

I did wonder, when I first saw the design, never mind the actual tower, whether this would become a white elephant - as opposed to a red squiggle!

Mind you, £11.95 for as many visits as you like in a calendar year sounds pretty good value to me.

Bronchitikat | Homepage | 23.01.15 - 9:39 a.m. | #

Good vantage for this weekend's Year of the Bus (sic) display too.

Kim | 23.01.15 - 10:44 a.m. | #

It does rather change things, doesn't it. If you do get a rubbish day, you can always come back.

Shame it's not really convenient for me to get there frequently enough to make it entirely compelling.

Still, better.

Simon | 23.01.15 - 11:29 a.m. | #

I've not been that way since I was at Stratford just before Westfield was open. Like many people, most things that I would visit are a spur of the moment decision - e.g., I'm in that area and "while 'm here, I'll visit xxxx". Like most people, my visit would be a one-off and £15 is a ridiculous price to pay. Therefore, I won't go up it, even if I have to be walking past it and think "I wonder what that's like". A fiver and I might be tempted. Other than locals, who else are going to make more than one trip in a year?

The LT museum works on a similar basis. They now charge an eye-watering £16 entry fee, whereas not so long ago I think it was £5-£6. Their justification? It's now an annual ticket. How many of the visitors are going to make a return trip? Personally, I don't care because I don't have to pay, however the price might be the reason why it was almost empty when I visited it last year compared to the much bigger crowds in past visits.

I know places need to make money to keep going, but it all seems a rip-off to me. Perhaps places that charge high prices think there's sufficient (presumably overseas) tourists that will pay their prices. There are many places that I would visit if they were cheaper, but I'm not that interested in them to fay high prices.

Rogmi | 23.01.15 - 11:40 a.m. | #

In even better news, local residents get another £2 off if booking in advance over the phone.

https://twitter.com/amorbit/status/558592676946513920

So that's less than ten quid for a full year's visits :)

--- Post now updated ---

diamond geezer | 23.01.15 - 12:23 p.m. | #

@Rogmi - IMO the LT museum was probably empty because it is now crap compared to what it used to be. They have "kidified" it!

The Depot at Acton is now the place to go but unfortunately it is only open on very limited weekends throughout the year. Why it's not open more often beats me.

| 23.01.15 - 12:31 p.m. | #

The fact it's crap was my other thought as well :-) I've only been there once since the change - I didn't like it. I agree with Acton, although it's about eight years since my previous visit.

Rogmi | 23.01.15 - 12:37 p.m. | #

The Orbit stands on Thornton Fields Carriage Sidings, or is it in Thornton's Field?

LenofLondon | 23.01.15 - 1:41 p.m. | #

@robbob
"the terms and conditions state:
Tickets are intended for use by the purchaser/named person only and are non transferable. "

I couldndn't find the Ts & Cs. I do note however that you can buy more than one ticket. Unless you need to individually name all the tickets, that would let you take different guests up on different days.

timbo | 23.01.15 - 3:06 p.m. | #

Competition on their website:

- Closing date is 31 April 2015
- The prize will be valid until 1 January 2015

Well, thank you.
(not to mention that April has 30 days)

Regular reader | 23.01.15 - 3:22 p.m. | #

I also think the London Transport Museum has been "kidified" which is a shame as I remember it being quite the opposite back in the 80s. The Acton Depot is a great place to wander around but as has been said above it has very limited opening days.

I must say the new 'annual' ticket for the Orbit is quite tempting. I'm not in London very often but I could see myself making a detour to the Orbit to see the sun rise or set. I might give it a go.

Tetramesh | Homepage | 23.01.15 - 3:27 p.m. | #

The opening hours alas make it impossible to see a sunrise, and very hard to see a sunset (except between late November and early January).

diamond geezer | Homepage | 23.01.15 - 4:55 p.m. | #

There's nothing actually there. That's the problem. Wasn't there supposed to be a nice bar or restaurant at the top?

Alex McKenna | 24.01.15 - 11:02 a.m. | #

There's a cafe at the bottom.
There's a view at the top.

I don't think a restaurant/bar requiring a £15 entrance charge would have survived 90m up.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 24.01.15 - 11:04 a.m. | #

Thanks for the prompt DG.

I bought a timed ticket on-line last night (eventually - website kept freezing) and exchanged it on arrival for my annual pass. Hardly anyone at the top when I went, but sun too low (even at noon) to take decent photos to the south.

Also took a photo of every "model" bus, but 3 of the 60 aren't there!

Got quite busy later on this PM.

Were you there?!

dg writes: Orbit no, Olympic Park yes.

John Simmons | 24.01.15 - 4:52 p.m. | #

Correction to my earlier post.

Having checked my photos against the list of bus sculptures, only 2 were not in the QEOP, 1 was wrongly named ("Childhood on a bus" was named "Kids Company"), and several were not on the correct plinths!

I think I found "Jungle Bus" (no picture shown on the provided list); but I'm not sure because the plinth was not labelled.

John Simmons | 25.01.15 - 1:54 p.m. | #

Thanks for the heads up - have just ordered mine.
It was good to learn that (despite living south of the river) I'm just within the area defined as 'local' with the result that I'll now be able to revisit as much as I like for a year, and all for under a tenner!

RogerW | 04.02.15 - 3:33 p.m. | #











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