Bus operators cease issuing paper tickets for concessionary travel

[stevenedin]

I just got an email from Stagecoach to say that they are no longer issuing tickets for concessionary passes. I have copied and pasted from the email but can’t find any link on their website advertising it.

From Monday 20th February 2023, we’re saying goodbye to paper ticket receipts for concessionary card users on our buses.​

What does this mean? If you currently travel using an NEC (National Entitlement Card) or a Young Scot NEC card, we'll no longer issue a paper receipt when you travel. This change will: speed up boarding times help bus routes in Scotland save up to 220 minutes per day help us achieve our green targets by cutting down on the amount of paper we use reduce waste and litter on board our buses

What does this mean for me? When travelling by bus with your concessionary bus pass, you’ll still need to scan your pass and tell your driver where you’re going, so we can digitally log your journey. However, once you’re done, you can just head on to the bus to find your seat, as you'll no longer get a paper receipt.​

 

[roadierway77]

I just got an email from Stagecoach to say that they are no longer issuing tickets for concessionary passes. I have copied and pasted from the email but can’t find any link on their website advertising it.

Several other operators are doing the same, I saw similar announcements from McGill’s and First Glasgow.

I think it's a good idea, I use buses a great deal and I'm always finding concessionary tickets in my pockets and strewn around the house, so not having to deal with that is welcome.

 

[GusB]

I just got an email from Stagecoach to say that they are no longer issuing tickets for concessionary passes. I have copied and pasted from the email but can’t find any link on their website advertising it.

Several other operators are doing the same, I saw similar announcements from McGill’s and First Glasgow.

I think it's a good idea, I use buses a great deal and I'm always finding concessionary tickets in my pockets and strewn around the house, so not having to deal with that is welcome.

I've moved this discussion to a new thread as it's not specific to Stagecoach. There was an article in Route One yesterday regarding this:

Five Scottish operators to drop concessionary receipts - routeone

First Bus, McGill’s, Stagecoach, West Coast Motors and JMB Travel are to cease issuing receipts to concessionary bus users in Scotland from 20 February.

www.route-one.net

First Bus, McGill’s, Stagecoach, West Coast Motors and JMB Travel are to cease issuing ticket receipts to concessionary bus users in Scotland from 20 February.

The joint initiative, led by the Glasgow Bus Alliance, means routes in Scotland will save up to 220 minutes per day. The Transport Scotland-endorsed move will also be good news for the environment and reduce on-board littering, with millions of printed slips of paper eliminated per month.

New software will allow the five bus operators to log each journey separately. Those using a National Entitlement Card will be unaffected except for no longer receiving a receipt. They will still need to inform the driver of their destination to allow for accurate recording.

Colin Napier, McGill’s Group Service Delivery Director, says: “This small change of removing paper receipts for concessionary passengers will have a really positive impact for all bus users. Not only will it make boarding quicker and reduce delays on our services, it’s also better for the environment which is a top priority for McGill’s Bus Group.

“Thanks to innovative improvements to our technology we will save hours of inefficiently sitting stationary at bus stops on our busiest routes by not printing concession receipts. We want to make our services as efficient as possible which is why we’re excited to roll this out across our entire network.”

Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director for First Bus Scotland, says the step is long-awaited, and will have big efficiency and environmental implications.

“On our services alone, over 850,000 small pieces of paper are printed for receipts in Glasgow and Aberdeen each week that we have felt are unnecessary when the customer already holds a physical concessionary card,” says Mr Macfarlan.

“These paper receipts are unable to be recycled and therefore, making these small changes, can have a much larger impact in helping us improve journey times and reduce waste.”

It's definitely a good move. Apart from the fact that it will save bus operators a small fortune in ticket rolls, it's a good way of cutting down on litter. It's utterly pointless to issue a receipt for something you don't actually pay for!

 

[Bletchleyite]

The only sensible argument I could see for it was to prevent drivers just randomly tapping the pass button rather than correctly doing it once for each pass, but the requirement to scan passes seems to solve that. Was it a local authority requirement?

 

[GusB]

The only sensible argument I could see for it was to prevent drivers just randomly tapping the pass button rather than correctly doing it once for each pass, but the requirement to scan passes seems to solve that. Was it a local authority requirement?

I really don't think that there has been any sensible argument for it for some time, other than to allow an inspector to check that journeys are being recorded properly.

The article states that there still will be a requirement for passengers to state their destination, and that's fair enough because it needs to be recorded so that the operator is correctly reimbursed.

There was absolutely zero benefit to the passenger in issuing a paper ticket, though.

 

[richard13]

English bus companies have not issued tickets for travel on concessionary passes for quite some times.

 

[PG]

English bus companies have not issued tickets for travel on concessionary passes for quite some times.

Did that change lead to any reductions in journey times?

 

[dodecahedron67]

English bus companies have not issued tickets for travel on concessionary passes for quite some times.

Unlike scottish concessions though, England simply has a ‘flate rate’ reimbursement per tap (per council), regardless of where the passenger is going. So a passenger doing York to Whitby will get the bus company the same reimbursement as one doing York station to York City Centre, whereas in Scotland these would be reimbursed at different rates

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

I don't think I've ever seen a ticket issued for an OAP pass in West Yorkshire, I have though for companions of disabled passengers.

 

[Trackman]

I don't think I've ever seen a ticket issued for an OAP pass in West Yorkshire, I have though for companions of disabled passengers.

I haven't either in numerous towns and cities.

 

[ChrisC]

English bus companies have not issued tickets for travel on concessionary passes for quite some times.

Stagecoach certainly still do issue tickets here in the East Midlands. I only received my bus pass a few months ago but for every journey I have made on my local Stagecoach routes I have been issued with a ticket. I’ve just been out on a walk and returned home by bus this afternoon and was given a ticket.

 

[Simon75]

English bus companies have not issued tickets for travel on concessionary passes for quite some times.

First Potteries stopped issuing them last year. Go Ahead and Arriva I don't think have ever issued them

 

[175mph]

Stagecoach certainly still do issue tickets here in the East Midlands. I only received my bus pass a few months ago but for every journey I have made on my local Stagecoach routes I have been issued with a ticket. I’ve just been out on a walk and returned home by bus this afternoon and was given a ticket.

View attachment 129261

Hornsby Travel in Scunthorpe still issues them and the drivers input the destination you are traveling to as if you are paying a fare.

 

[farwest]

I cannot remember when I last had a ticket in Cornwall, so long ago.

 

[Typhoon]

Stagecoach certainly still do issue tickets here in the East Midlands. I only received my bus pass a few months ago but for every journey I have made on my local Stagecoach routes I have been issued with a ticket. I’ve just been out on a walk and returned home by bus this afternoon and was given a ticket.

View attachment 129261

Stagecoach South East gave up more than a few years ago, obviously regional. Arriva Kent and ? also issued them. Stopped around the same time (maybe slightly later).
I found them useful if I wanted to identify a particular driver (working out which journey could be difficult for more frequent and long services without the benefit of BusTimes) - as an example, the driver of one of the buses I was on today was superb, welcomed everyone with a cheery smile even though the bus ahead had been cancelled (apparently - some people said two buses), waited until everyone had sat down before setting off - most were having to go upstairs as there were no seats down, contending with rubbish parking and roadworks. Still people moaned. When I've got a minute I'll work out the details and contact the operator, she did a good job.

? - suspect when it was still Sussex

Did that change lead to any reductions in journey times?

It did lead to less litter in the buses; remarkable how poor people's aim is when they try to dispose of their unwanted ticket.

 

[gray1404]

I cannot understand why Stagecoach Lancashire still issues these concession receipts and requires you to state your destination given that it is flat rate reimbursement. The machines that use are also very temperamental in that they do not register the card if you put it flat on top of the machine, you have to hover it over with about half a centimetre gap. I do not think they are machines or particularly disability accessible.

 

[Cesarcollie]

There are very few schemes in practice with ‘flat rate reimbursement’. Many - but not all - schemes replicate the data from adult single/return fares on each route from ETM data then use an average of this as a multiplier for the number of concession journeys made, with the values reduced by the ‘generation factor’ then increased by additional costs. The whole calculation is extremely complex and you Ned to be a true concessionary fares expert to understand fully. Which I’m not! However, in absolutely no examples is the revenue received by the operator simple to explain….. And there is rarely any good reason to issue a zero value ticket. The original purpose was to ensure each pass was recorded - but with smart cards that’s no longer a problem. ( sorry - to add to the above - many but not all schemes will also account for period ticket sales and their values in the ‘basket of fares’ calculation)

 

[markymark2000]

This is great news and a great way to remove wasteful bits of paper that no one ever uses. Next step, operators need tick/untick the box in their Ticketer portal to rid the stupid little card receipts that get issued for anyone making transactions with contactless. And then also tick the box in their Ticketer portal for 'Stacked tickets' for singles (so if you ask for 2 adult singles, it prints on one ticket '2 Adults') and then we would save so much more ink, paper, wear and tear of the ticket machine and reduce journey times even more. The amount of delay seconds per passenger when the ticket is printed and then waiting for the second bit of paper to print. Oh it's painful. It's the same feeling as waiting for a cashier to find your penny change. You stand there awkwardly for basically no reason.

 

[Furryanimal]

Here in South East Wales you still get a ticket on Stagecoach buses with your bus pass.
Not so on Newport Bus or Phil Anslow.
But you do on Cardiff Bus.

 

[M60lad]

Unless I'm wrong most Transdev Blazefield operators (Rosso, Blackburn, Burnley, Keighley, Harrogate & Coastline) still issue tickets for Disabled ENCTS holders. In fact, Rosso have an unusual situation that if you're travelling out of the TfGM area you have to let the driver know where you're going, yet if your staying in TfGM area you just scan your pass as normal and the ticketer will automatically issue a ticket.

Other operators that still issue paper tickets to ENCTS holders include

Stagecoach Lancaster
Transpora Northwest
Diamond Northwest

 

[Man of Kent]

I cannot understand why Stagecoach Lancashire still issues these concession receipts and requires you to state your destination given that it is flat rate reimbursement. The machines that use are also very temperamental in that they do not register the card if you put it flat on top of the machine, you have to hover it over with about half a centimetre gap. I do not think they are machines or particularly disability accessible.

I understand it is still required by Lancashire County Council (and possibly all NOW card areas), as other Transport Concession Authorities may do in certain parts of the country. @Cesarcollie's post 17 explains more.

The mystery with the original post is that the Scottish scheme is a national one, so conditions in Strathclyde won't be different to those in Lothian, Grampian or other former regional council areas.

 

[Hardcastle]

Stagecoach in Lancashire still require pass holders to state their destination & a ticket is issued it appears this is the only place i know in England that do this.

 

[geoffk]

When I lived in Greater Manchester, Rosso (Transdev) issued nil-value tickets, as they did in Lancashire, where you were also asked for your destination. The latter of course led to increased boarding times. None of the operators I've used in Devon issue tickets (Stagecoach, GoAhead, First, Dartline, Greenslades and CountryBus).