Bus operators that still don't accept contactless payments

[SouthEastBuses]

Not sure if this thread exists or not, but I'd thought I'd create one.

Recently, so many bus companies have started to accept contactless card payments on board the buses. I was wondering if there are a couple that still don't accept contactless yet. (one of them I know locally is Sussex Coaches which runs Horsham town route 68 and the Sunday service of the 17 bus from Horsham to Brighton, using a Citaro C2.)

 

[RustySpoons]

Burnley & Pendle still don't accept contactless. The only Transdev Blazefield operation that doesn't, although it is apparently coming this year at some point.

You can still buy day/weekly/monthly tickets on the app using Apple Pay/Google Pay, but it's still cash only on the bus.

ETA - There's also a couple of smaller independent operators in the area that don't accept contactless either - Pilkingtons and Holmeswood.

 

[Man of Kent]

Almost certainly the largest operator that doesn't yet accept contactless is Nottingham City Transport, but it is coming soon, according to the operator's website. TAS's recently published
National Fares Survey (https://taspartnership.co.uk/what-we-do/national-fares-survey/) shows the municipal sector is lagging considerably behind the major operators - I think Warrington may be another.

Otherwise this is likely to be a long list of independents each with a handful of buses.

 

[BJames]

Almost certainly the largest operator that doesn't yet accept contactless is Nottingham City Transport, but it is coming soon, according to the operator's website.

This caught me out when I first boarded a bus in Nottingham. I quickly learnt that you can buy tickets on their app though, but I do look forward to their introduction of contactless. Their website states that:

The fitting of our new card readers is now complete across the fleet, with rigorous testing and compliance checking now underway.

 

[markymark2000]

Almost certainly the largest operator that doesn't yet accept contactless is Nottingham City Transport, but it is coming soon, according to the operator's website. TAS's recently published
National Fares Survey (https://taspartnership.co.uk/what-we-do/national-fares-survey/) shows the municipal sector is lagging considerably behind the major operators - I think Warrington may be another.

Otherwise this is likely to be a long list of independents each with a handful of buses.

Warrington doesn't have contactless. To be fair though, they only just got M tickets a year and a half ago. Halton Transport only got contactless because Merseytravel paid for the machines and rented them out to Halton.

I know a good amount of independants don't have contactless. Aintree Coachlines/Helms of Eastham don't, Link Network don't (though I know they are looking into it). I don't think P&O Lloyd or M&H Coaches do either.

 

[northken]

HCT group is rather sizeable and their Bristol operations don't accept contactless (yet?).

 

[Deerfold]

Burnley & Pendle still don't accept contactless. The only Transdev Blazefield operation that doesn't, although it is apparently coming this year at some point.

You can still buy day/weekly/monthly tickets on the app using Apple Pay/Google Pay, but it's still cash only on the bus.

ETA - There's also a couple of smaller independent operators in the area that don't accept contactless either - Pilkingtons and Holmeswood.

It's been quite annoying as I've been hoping to try out capping on Transdev, but 1 in 3 of the buses past my house don't take contactless and I don't fancy the risk of having to wait another 20 minutes just for the sake of that.

 

[Andyh82]

Almost certainly the largest operator that doesn't yet accept contactless is Nottingham City Transport, but it is coming soon, according to the operator's website. TAS's recently published
National Fares Survey (https://taspartnership.co.uk/what-we-do/national-fares-survey/) shows the municipal sector is lagging considerably behind the major operators - I think Warrington may be another.

Otherwise this is likely to be a long list of independents each with a handful of buses.

Is this not one of those situations, where as they were an early adopter and went down one road, they couldn’t easily accommodate something else which became the norm and then ended up lagging behind on another road.

For example they’ve had smartcard payments with Easyrider cards and Robin Hood cards for years, but then can’t do contactless.

Trent Barton have had similar issues haven’t they?

 

[F Great Eastern]

in Ireland, First Aircoach are the only operator that accepts contactless bank cards.

The TGX150 is still the dominant machine in Ireland for most companies.

 

[Pat1105]

In the West Mids:
Let's Go (Travel Express)
Thandi
Corporate Express

We have had quite a few operators in the past few weeks who have switched to ticketer machines, which include: Banga Buses, Walsall Community Transport, Claribels, Discount Travel Solutions, Landflight, Kevs Cars & Coaches.

 

[martyjon]

HCT group is rather sizeable and their Bristol operations don't accept contactless (yet?).

HCT operate the Bristol m1 Metrobus route on behalf of First and contactless payments are accepted when the roadside ticket machines are down, don't know about other HCT routes though.

 

[Saperstein]

Chester

Aintree Coachlines (Eastham?) Route 40

Chester City Link Circular.

Chester railway station -> Chester bus interchange -> Foregate Street -> Chester railway station.

They charge £1 single or £1.50 return.

No cards accepted despite using similar machine to Stagecoach.

ENCTS cards accepted.

They don’t accept Plusbus which is weird as they advertise a service from the station and buses show the BR logo on the destination blind!

MESSAGE ENDS
Saperstein

 

[Whistler40145]

Blackpool Transport don’t accept contactless card payments, but ENCTS are.

 

[Dai Corner]

I can just sneak Newport Transport in.

They are getting their Ticketers tonight and start accepting contactless tomorrow.

 

[WillPS]

Is this not one of those situations, where as they were an early adopter and went down one road, they couldn’t easily accommodate something else which became the norm and then ended up lagging behind on another road.

For example they’ve had smartcard payments with Easyrider cards and Robin Hood cards for years, but then can’t do contactless.

Trent Barton have had similar issues haven’t they?

Yes indeed. I believe their "bus card" was the first contactless travel pass product in the country, released in 2000, long before Oyster and ITSO. They were then a fairly early supporter of the ITSO standard, so moved to machines which could read both the proprietary stuff they'd launched with and the new format - but not Debit/Credit cards.

The card readers have all now been changed over to units that accept all 3, so I imagine the go live will come fairly soon. The new units are a lot more prone to card clash (presumably because the old units could simply ignore credit/debit cards).

In fairness to them to mitigate the problem somewhat they've got a rather good app that allows ticket purchase using a card. It's not as convenient but at least they've proactively provided a workaround.

 

[323235]

Manchester Community Transport don't but they're closing down in April.

 

[Bungle965]

Manchester Community Transport don't but they're closing down in April.

Neither do Jim Stones, but they are also closing down!
Stotts is another one in Manchester.
Sam

 

[JetBlast]

Burnley & Pendle still don't accept contactless. The only Transdev Blazefield operation that doesn't,

Some Rosso busses don't accept contactless.

 

[RustySpoons]

Some Rosso busses don't accept contactless.

Didn't know that! Thought they were all contactless now. The buses that don't are they the ones based at Queensgate?

 

[robk23oxf]

Smaller companies may have ticket machines capable of supporting contactless payment but the main thing stopping them is the extra back office systems that are needed to support it. For small bus companies or coach companies that do some local service work on the side, it isn't worth the extra cost for relatively few transactions as much of their work is tendered with very few ticket sales.

 

[markymark2000]

Chester

Aintree Coachlines (Eastham?) Route 40

Chester City Link Circular.

Chester railway station -> Chester bus interchange -> Foregate Street -> Chester railway station.

They charge £1 single or £1.50 return.

No cards accepted despite using similar machine to Stagecoach.

ENCTS cards accepted.

They don’t accept Plusbus which is weird as they advertise a service from the station and buses show the BR logo on the destination blind!

MESSAGE ENDS
Saperstein

Helms use the Wayfarers like Arriva used to have, they don't use anything like the Vix Machines which Stagecoach have.

 

[WillPS]

Smaller companies may have ticket machines capable of supporting contactless payment but the main thing stopping them is the extra back office systems that are needed to support it. For small bus companies or coach companies that do some local service work on the side, it isn't worth the extra cost for relatively few transactions as much of their work is tendered with very few ticket sales.

Pardon my ignorance, but surely there is some sort of software-as-a-service that manages this whole thing (possibly run by one the companies that makes the machines themselves)? I thought that was the cashless dream from an operators perspective...

 

[Cesarcollie]

Pardon my ignorance, but surely there is some sort of software-as-a-service that manages this whole thing (possibly run by one the companies that makes the machines themselves)? I thought that was the cashless dream from an operators perspective...

Yes, Ticketer at least provides a complete back office function.

 

[robk23oxf]

Pardon my ignorance, but surely there is some sort of software-as-a-service that manages this whole thing (possibly run by one the companies that makes the machines themselves)? I thought that was the cashless dream from an operators perspective...

It costs the bus companies to process card transactions, card company fees and presumably the software is licenced and it needs someone to oversee it? True, it also costs the companies to have cash securely taken away and deposited. Perhaps small companies which deal with relatively few ticket sales don't want to have the costs of both systems?

 

[JetBlast]

Didn't know that! Thought they were all contactless now. The buses that don't are they the ones based at Queensgate?

I am not sure. It was on the 468 and those busses based in Rochdale. It wasn't one of the usual Orange busses but one inherited from the purchase of the company. It was quite annoying as they advertise the service as having contactless payment.

 

[optaretempo]

There are still probably hundreds of them all over the country that don't.

I can think of all of the following bus operators just in the South East area who are all still Cash Only and don't accept any Contactless Payments at all:

• Autocar
• Battle Area Community Transport
• Bear Buses
• Bexhill Community Bus
• Big Lemon
• Buses 4 U
• Cardinal Buses
• Cobham Chatterbus
• Community Transport For The Lewes Area
• Cruisers
• Edward Thomas
• Go Coach
• Handcross & District Community Transport
• Harting Minibus
• Kent Coach Tours
• Langston & Tasker
• Little Jims
• Meopham Community Bus
• Midhurst Community Bus
• NSL
• Rambler Coaches
• RATP Epsom Buses (408/E5/E9/E10/E16)
• RATP London United (400/663)
• Red Route Buses
• Reptons Coaches
• Runnymede Community Transport
• Rye & District Community Transport
• Selsey Community Bus
• Southern Transit
• Sussex Coaches
• Waverley Hoppa
• Wealdlink Community Transport

The list could go on and on as there are still hundreds of bus operators who are Cash Only still.

The most surprising one is NSL who are still Cash Only despite operating all of the (rip off) hotel bus routes at Gatwick Airport (one of our largest airports) where i would think Contactless Payments would be useful.

The most impressive one is Cuckmere Buses who not only did they very recently installed the newest Ticketer machines to accept Contactless Payments but they also installed Chip & Pin Card Readers at the same time for those who wish to pay with Chip & Pin cards. So they now offer both Contactless Payments and Chip & Pin payments despite about 99% of their passengers being OAPs with ENCTS bus passes. Although their weekend services get a few ordinary passengers but still i hardly think it is enough to be worth this. But at least it is very useful to have so many payment methods.

I reckon there will be some that will never start to accept Contactless Payments on their buses. I think for small operators it is just too expensive. Sussex Coaches run the very frequent half hourly 68 service as Cash Only (and with ancient Wayfarer Saver machines that barely have any ink in them and half of them print the wrong date) and everyone seems to manage fine so i think a lot of bus operators probably have other priorities to spend their money on.

 

[Dai Corner]

There are still probably hundreds of them all over the country that don't.

I can think of all of the following bus operators just in the South East area who are all still Cash Only and don't accept any Contactless Payments at all:

• Autocar
• Battle Area Community Transport
• Bear Buses
• Bexhill Community Bus
• Big Lemon
• Buses 4 U
• Cardinal Buses
• Cobham Chatterbus
• Community Transport For The Lewes Area
• Cruisers
• Edward Thomas
• Go Coach
• Handcross & District Community Transport
• Harting Minibus
• Kent Coach Tours
• Langston & Tasker
• Little Jims
• Meopham Community Bus
• Midhurst Community Bus
• NSL
• Rambler Coaches
• RATP Epsom Buses (408/E5/E9/E10/E16)
• RATP London United (400/663)
• Red Route Buses
• Reptons Coaches
• Runnymede Community Transport
• Rye & District Community Transport
• Selsey Community Bus
• Southern Transit
• Sussex Coaches
• Waverley Hoppa
• Wealdlink Community Transport

The list could go on and on as there are still hundreds of bus operators who are Cash Only still.

The most surprising one is NSL who are still Cash Only despite operating all of the (rip off) hotel bus routes at Gatwick Airport (one of our largest airports) where i would think Contactless Payments would be useful.

The most impressive one is Cuckmere Buses who not only did they very recently installed the newest Ticketer machines to accept Contactless Payments but they also installed Chip & Pin Card Readers at the same time for those who wish to pay with Chip & Pin cards. So they now offer both Contactless Payments and Chip & Pin payments despite about 99% of their passengers being OAPs with ENCTS bus passes. Although their weekend services get a few ordinary passengers but still i hardly think it is enough to be worth this. But at least it is very useful to have so many payment methods.

I reckon there will be some that will never start to accept Contactless Payments on their buses. I think for small operators it is just too expensive. Sussex Coaches run the very frequent half hourly 68 service as Cash Only (and with ancient Wayfarer Saver machines that barely have any ink in them and half of them print the wrong date) and everyone seems to manage fine so i think a lot of bus operators probably have other priorities to spend their money on.

Are you a South East ticket machine sales rep sharing your target list?

I'm impressed by your detailed knowledge if not.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

Heh pretty much all of these you listed above are my local bus companies lol

 

[cnjb8]

Nottingham is good for contactless. The only operators I can think of are Littles Travel and Notts & Derby but the latter may do.

 

[69036]

Stuart's of Carluke do not accept contactless ar the moment although apparently they are hoping to soon