ENCTS pass timing validity

[randyrippley]

What counts for deciding if an ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) pass is within time limits? Actual time of the bus? Or the intended timetabled time?
Had a case today where the bus home from my favourite pub arrived two minutes early at 22:59 instead of the timetabled 23:01. It didn't actually matter as it's Saturday, but on another day would it have made a difference?
I can forsee that if the situation was reversed with the timetable showing 22:59 with an actual time of 23:01 then a few heated words could ensue.
(Note that in this part of the world the passes are actually scanned on the ticket machine, so it's the computer that says "no", not the driver)

 

[Gloster]

I asked about normal tickets on Southern Vectis a week or two ago: it is the time you put the pass on the machine’s reader that is the decider. If it is 09.29 the machine will make a rude noise, if it is 09.31 the machine just beeps happily. This is the same for buses loading before departure time, so (in theory) there is a rush of pensioners (contradiction in terms?) for the 09.30 bus just as it is closing its doors. How you stand if the machine’s clock is wrong or the bus is early/late and the other side of the cut in/cut off presumably depends on the driver.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Rightly or wrongly, some operators machines are set up to allow a few minutes grace before/after the specified time to allow for this sort of situation. I would expect that it is legitimate, and agreed with the relevant authorities, but I won't name names just in case.

 

[greenline712]

The "core" times are 0930-2300 on weekdays; any time at weekends. If passes are available outwith those times, then the LTA has paid extra to operators to permit this . . . and this relaxation will only apply to passes issued by said LTA. Hertfordshire permit "their" passes to be available 24/7/365, so a Herts pass is only available in Bucks for the core times.

The rule always used to be (and this goes back to when passes were first made available, in the 1970s; before then there were no concessions!!) . . .
Bus due 0929, actual time 0931, passes valid. Bus due 2301, actual time 2259, passes valid. It was always biased in favour of the passenger.

When I set the rules for Ticketer at my company, I asked for a 2 minute grace period; so 0928 and 2302. It saves arguments with the driver . . . and yes, that's where "twirly" comes from . . . "am I twirly, driver?".