Mod Note: Posts #230 - #245 originally in this thread.
Second - the usualy paper tickets garbage, eliminating these completeley will make srailways less accessible as people will need either a) a smartcard (with accociated aditional cost to obtain and replace), b) a smartphone - I know a few people who have been unable to get a 26-30 railcard due to not having a smartphone, or c) a contactless card which again there are certain people who don't have one.
And they will miss out.
There's plenty of things that have changed in the past that have helped us progress, yet have made people miss out unless they took mitigation action.
For example the turning off of analogue TV. Either get a digital box, digital TV or miss out. The same will happen with FM radio.
Smartphones can be got cheaply.
If you don't want to get one through fear, the answer is to investigate that fear rather than force an old system to continue just so you don't have to evolve your way of life. That's like asking petrol stations to continue stocking 4* petrol...
Smartcards are free to obtain.
Possibly a cost to replace but no doubt it'll be the same or less than if you lost your paper season ticket... in this ever increasingly digital world.
Same with contactless cards.
If lots and lots of people were having their card skimmed, you'd hear about it a lot more. That is scaremongering at its best.
Plus, with banking apps now encorporating ways to turn the card on and off, you can do that if you wish.
For me, the messing about far outweighs the benefits - especially as banks are actually pretty good at refunding fraud cases and most wallets come with built in protection anyway. So really, there's no excuse not to have a contactless card.