For the sake of fairness I think I ought to record that I have now used my freedom pass several times, so it has proven useful after all. Mind you,  I’ve only needed to use it in the DLR station where the problem of not having one first cropped up. I should note too that using it is always rather fiddly, as it means rummaging in my bumbag to get it out. It always takes me several minutes for me to get through the gate. But at least I now have it, which means I’ll (probably) never get stuck in an unmanned DLR station again.