Contactless Payments On Board Buses

[Busaholic]

Oh to have a local chip shop with anything for under a fiver

Buys half a dozen chips round here - cash only, needless to say.

 

[route101]

Hopefully First Bus in Glasgow introduce contactless . I just started using the app , pretty awkward as it didnt load up .

 

[philthetube]

The fish and chip shop charge 15p for transactions under £5 via contactless, but at work there is no fee for smaller payments.

In reality, it's 2017 not 2007 and we're moving towards a cashless society slowly but surely and they should be encouraging me to use contactless not want to charge me 15p so I go to the nearest cash machine to draw out a tenner instead to pay like I did!

Not sure if Transdev round here (Harrogate) have contactless payments on the bus yet, they do have a mobile app problem being you can't buy a single/return ticket for a shorter journey through that. It would certainly be very useful on the Number 1 route!

15p doesn't sound to bad, probably covering costs, it's the 50p or a £1 I object too, just another way to make money

 

[higthomas]

Here in Oxford both Stagecoach (SC) and Go-Ahead (Oxford bus company (OBC)) have contactless. Both of them only use it as an alternative payment method for their normal range of tickets. SCs system works quite well, but the OBC ones take blooming ages to register my card. If part of the advantage of contactless is to speed up boarding, I don't see how it can work. The same happens with my 'key' card. I'm all in favour of contactless etc. but I think it does need to be at the same spec that normal readers are.

 

[LordCreed]

Thamesdown Transport (part of Go South Coast) now takes contactless card payments.

 

[mattdickinson]

Thamesdown Transport (part of Go South Coast) now takes contactless card payments.

Carousel Buses also take them now.

 

[SCH117X]

Here in Oxford both Stagecoach (SC) and Go-Ahead (Oxford bus company (OBC)) have contactless. Both of them only use it as an alternative payment method for their normal range of tickets. SCs system works quite well, but the OBC ones take blooming ages to register my card.

In the Coach & Bus Week Transdev issue (28 March 2017) its explained that the "on-board terminals work in deferred online mode which optimises transaction time, with the localised card reader accepting and completing the transaction. Data is sent via GPRS when the ticket machine has a secure connection." Presumably therefore operators fall into two camps with contactless transactions, those who accept the transaction before it is certified and those who wait for the certification before accepting the transaction.

 

[TUC]

Contactless in itself should be relatively easy to introduce as it can be used with existing graduated fare systems. It is only the method of payment that has changed. It would not be much more complicated for individuals operators to have contactless day tickets via a fares cap for all journeys paid for using the same card.

 

[pdsalford]

Stagecoach Manchester have it and from what I have seen it has proved popular.

Some local Stagecoach drivers always claim that their machine is down and to pay the next driver. Strangely it's always the same drivers having the issues.

 

[johntea]

One thing I do like about the Transdev app is the fact a day ticket is defined as an actual 24 hours, so I purchased one yesterday morning and could use it again this morning to travel about some more

 

[Joe Paxton]

In the Coach & Bus Week Transdev issue (28 March 2017) its explained that the "on-board terminals work in deferred online mode which optimises transaction time, with the localised card reader accepting and completing the transaction. Data is sent via GPRS when the ticket machine has a secure connection." Presumably therefore operators fall into two camps with contactless transactions, those who accept the transaction before it is certified and those who wait for the certification before accepting the transaction.

"Authorised" is the normal industry term for this.

I very much doubt that any of the bus companies accepting contactless on-board actually do a real-time authorisation there and then, rather they work in what the C&BW article describes as "deferred online mode".

I would expect that bus terminals are updated with hotlists of lost & stolen cards (or perhaps just those which have already been used for an on-board ticket purchase) and also of previously used contactless cards for which payment hasn't been forthcoming from the card issuer (e.g. unauthorised overdraft or a prepaid card that's got an empty balance).

In other words I expect part and parcel of bus companies accepting contactless on-board is accepting the revenue risk for fraudulent transactions.

Also I doubt GPRS technology as such is used very often - 3G or 4G, possibly EDGE (a development of GPRS), but GPRS itself is pretty damn slow!

 

[Joe Paxton]

Some local Stagecoach drivers always claim that their machine is down and to pay the next driver. Strangely it's always the same drivers having the issues.

Bizarre!

One thing I do like about the Transdev app is the fact a day ticket is defined as an actual 24 hours, so I purchased one yesterday morning and could use it again this morning to travel about some more

That's handy.

 

[SCH117X]

One thing I do like about the Transdev app is the fact a day ticket is defined as an actual 24 hours, so I purchased one yesterday morning and could use it again this morning to travel about some more

Agreed. Also a weekly is 7x24hrs so you can start it say at 8.05 on a Monday and use the same "ticket" at 7.50 the next Monday, then start another at 17.05 and use the same "ticket" at 16.50 the following Mondays even if used only for a five day working week to work and back home over and so on so eventually saving a weeks ticket compared to buying a paper one on board.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Oh to have a local chip shop with anything for under a fiver

Where do you live? In every chippy I've ever been in (Harry Ramsden's is not a chippy) you can have X and regular chips, where X is near enough anything other than fish or chicken, for well under a fiver.

 

[takno]

Where do you live? In every chippy I've ever been in (Harry Ramsden's is not a chippy) you can have X and regular chips, where X is near enough anything other than fish or chicken, for well under a fiver.

Edinburgh. To be fair stuff other than fish is in the 4.50-5.00 bracket. Edinburgh chippies are pretty horrendous for a number of reasons, and price is definitely one of them.

 

[Deerfold]

But still only to buy a paper ticket - no capping or using the card as your ticket.
Progress is slow.

Coming to West Yorkshire in January - but still only for buying one of the existing tickets (so, quite often more expensive than an MTicket).

 

[Dai Corner]

Here in Newport we have the choice of four different bus companies operating in different parts of the city (all of them serve Cardiff Road). Three have (different) card systems, two take exact cash fares only, the other two give change and one is cash only. Plus First operate to Chepstow and Bristol with their own cards.

What a mess.

 

[Polarbear]

Stagecoach in Merseyside & Cheshire has had contactless payment for a few months now . It can also be used to pay for weekly passes, which are also issued on smart-cards.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Aberdeen have now been using contactless about 5 months now. It's safe to say that thanks to good advertising on the buses it has proven highly popular (It's pretty hard to miss the bright pink branding for it on the Enviro 500s!). I believe there was a week where 20% of fares were paid through contactless, that may not sound like much but for a new technology it's quite something.

 

[higthomas]

I was very surprised today to find my Arriva bus into Guildford took contactless. I'd always assumed it would be one of the later places to get it, never seeing like the most profitable bus territory. But I was very happy with the change.

 

[bussnapperwm]

Both National Express and Diamond have ticket machines which are contactless enabled, but as far as I know, only Diamond has their ones enabled (including their vehicles still with Hanson's logos)

 

[Dai Corner]

Here in Newport we have the choice of four different bus companies operating in different parts of the city (all of them serve Cardiff Road). Three have (different) card systems, two take exact cash fares only, the other two give change and one is cash only. Plus First operate to Chepstow and Bristol with their own cards.

What a mess.

Following up my own post, Stagecoach now accept Contactless and NAT and Cardiff Bus will do so by the end of this month. Progress has been rapid!

 

[hexagon789]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but First Glasgow take contactless now, they have for some months.

 

[Bwsbro]

First Cymru will start Contactless Payments from the 1st of April. buses carry multiple adverts for Contactless onboard

 

[GaryMcEwan]

First Midland Bluebird have now got Ticketer machines and will be rolling out Contactless soon.

It's strange that the Stagecoach operations South of the Border have it but yet, Western, East Scotland and North Scotland don't have it. Citylink and Megabus now also accept contactless.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but First Glasgow take contactless now, they have for some months.

And some drivers mump and moan still if you want to pay by contactless. It seems to the Blantyre drivers the have the moans about it.

 

[hexagon789]

And some drivers mump and moan still if you want to pay by contactless. It seems to the Blantyre drivers the have the moans about it.

I generally use the app or pay cash. I've never actually tried contactless with First, maybe I should to see what reaction it provokes!

 

[Bungle965]

Transdev are also moving forward with their contactless rollout, York depot first with one machine already in use presumably to see any problems that may occur and put them right before a more wholesale rollout.
Sam

 

[GaryMcEwan]

I generally use the app or pay cash. I've never actually tried contactless with First, maybe I should to see what reaction it provokes!

Oh please do, it's hilarious when they issue a cash ticket when you've specifically told them you want to pay by contactless and they've got to do it again. I've noticed that more drivers are now asking as well where you're going to when you buy a short hop £1.60 fare by contactless. Yet again, this is happening by Blantyre drivers.

 

[[.n]]

First Wessex have introduced contactless in the last few weeks (at least on the Jurassic Coast routes)