That Whittlesford Station ticket purchasing experience

I see that the shiny new ticket machine at Whittlesford station only takes credit cards - this one replaces the one that was stolen earlier in the year (but not the same one as the ticket machine in the car park - that was stolen in June - now do keep up).

Bit tricky if you are still at school, I'd have thought and just want to take the train of an afternoon into town. The knowledgeable and helpful staff in the ticket office are only there till midday.

The reason given is that there is some problem accepting coins. Or is it that National Express can't face having yet another theft of a ticket machine...