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Network West Midlands smartcards to launch this month.
- Thread starter dvboy
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If the OAP passes are anything to go by boarding is going to take a lot longer than it does at the moment. I don't see what passengers stand to gain, can't see NXWM lowering their fare unless the nbus undercuts them and idk if they're allowed to do so and from a data point of view would one be required to register? If so the card stores journeys which doesn't sit well with me compared to the anonymous day ticket and would prevent transfers (which most people do even though it's not allowed)
It's unsettling that they used the term daysaver rather than the nbus one-day which I assume they mean since it appears to be a centro thing although surely there will need to be a cash option for visitors and plusbus which is cheaper. Unfortunately I can see cash fares rising
tl;dr - good idea but needs to be well thought out
It's unsettling that they used the term daysaver rather than the nbus one-day which I assume they mean since it appears to be a centro thing although surely there will need to be a cash option for visitors and plusbus which is cheaper. Unfortunately I can see cash fares rising
tl;dr - good idea but needs to be well thought out
dvboy
Established Member
From experience, those using their OAP passes seem to hold or rub their pass over the reader for a month of sundays while looking for the driver to give them the OK, they are oblivious to the machine beeping and lighting up the moment their card touches it probably because they aren't looking or listening out for it. The machines aren't as well placed as those on London buses are (they beep loudly too). How many times does someone get on the bus and not have their exact change ready? Swings and roundabouts.
Daysaver isn't a direct quote so that could be sloppy journalism on E&S's part. I would assume nBus one-day too.
I assume one would register to safeguard against loss, and journeys would be recorded to prevent both fraud and incorrect charging. This is no different to Oyster in London where more expensive paper tickets sit alongside.
£1.60 seems reasonable for a smartcard journey compared to £1.70/£1.90 for a paper ticket fare. The incentive is the cost difference so it wouldn't surprise me to see a flat cash fare of £2.00 in June although I don't know where that leaves the new £1 Birmingham City Centre hop. I can see paper day tickets on buses eventually being phased out because they are too susceptible to fraud, so that the only cash fare you can buy on the bus is a single.
Anyways, they might be jumping the gun a bit with the end of this month if they are going to include the trams and trains too - they need to put smartcard readers on the tram stations and the New Street lines stations, and then make sure all 5 of the area's TOCs, plus NX Metro, have smartcard readers for their onboard staff.
Daysaver isn't a direct quote so that could be sloppy journalism on E&S's part. I would assume nBus one-day too.
I assume one would register to safeguard against loss, and journeys would be recorded to prevent both fraud and incorrect charging. This is no different to Oyster in London where more expensive paper tickets sit alongside.
£1.60 seems reasonable for a smartcard journey compared to £1.70/£1.90 for a paper ticket fare. The incentive is the cost difference so it wouldn't surprise me to see a flat cash fare of £2.00 in June although I don't know where that leaves the new £1 Birmingham City Centre hop. I can see paper day tickets on buses eventually being phased out because they are too susceptible to fraud, so that the only cash fare you can buy on the bus is a single.
Anyways, they might be jumping the gun a bit with the end of this month if they are going to include the trams and trains too - they need to put smartcard readers on the tram stations and the New Street lines stations, and then make sure all 5 of the area's TOCs, plus NX Metro, have smartcard readers for their onboard staff.
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