Poll: Which method of contactless payment works best for bus services?

[PTR 444]

With contactless payment now widespread across bus operators, it is interesting to find how different operators are implementing the technology in different ways. Go South Coast for example has separate readers for boarding and alighting, with the fare calculated based on location of the bus. Operators however can save on having exit readers by charging a flat or hopper fare.

Flat fares charge the same price every time somebody boards a bus, a bit like the £2 fares scheme now. Hopper fares on the other hand have a maximum cap for every hour travelled, allowing multiple buses to be used on a single journey within an hour without any additional charges. I’d be interested to hear people’s opinions on which system you think works best.

 

[ALEMASTER]

Most operators in the Sheffield area have contactless as means of payment in the same way as a shop, pub etc. First bus is due to launch pay as you go smart contactless with capping this coming Sunday, this involves tapping on with the driver and tapping off on an exit reader.

There are two problems I see
- multiple ticketing systems in use at the same time - the fare capping system only works if all your journeys are with First - if you want a multi operator ticket you have to buy a paper or app ticket in the established way.
- tapping off will slow down alighting and cause delays, especially if there are passengers waiting to board.

My view is the contactless smart ticketing with capping works best if there is a flat fare in operation and the scheme includes all services in the area - you tap on and that's it. Keeps boarding/alighting reasonably quick, you have a simple easy to understand system and passengers have the confidence they are getting the best deal.

I'm not sure flat fares would be viable in our area as services range from a minibus that tootles around the local urban area to long distance buses such as Sheffield to Matlock/Wirksworth, Buxton, Mansfield, Barnsley and Doncaster.

 

[JonathanH]

multiple ticketing systems in use at the same time - the fare capping system only works if all your journeys are with First - if you want a multi operator ticket you have to buy a paper or app ticket in the established way.

That has been overcome in some areas - eg Cornwall has fare capping on a multi operator basis.

tapping off will slow down alighting and cause delays, especially if there are passengers waiting to board.

It isn't a huge issue in my experience, especially as boarding then doesn't need a dialogue about where passengers are going or for the driver to key in the ticket required - so for the time lost in the alighting process, it is saved in the boarding process.

 

[ALEMASTER]

That has been overcome in some areas - eg Cornwall has fare capping on a multi operator basis.

does this include travel into neighbouring counties?

Here we have buses that cross from South Yorkshire into Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire as well as multiple operators - First South Yorkshire, Stagecoach Yorkshire, Stagecoach East Midlands, TM Travel, Hulleys of Baslow, Cawthornes, Sheffield Community Transport and South Pennine Community Transport.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I feel what we have in London works well - capped with a Hopper fare. It allows for value if using two short bus trips for a journey.

Biggest restriction I see to boarding/alighting speed is the use of mobile apps. I see the person with a mobile often struggling to get the phone to talk to the reader. One person in the time it takes ten or more people to get on.

Touching out on a bus might be less of a time penalty on London buses as many buses have a separate exit. There are still log jams though at busy times.

 

[dodecahedron67]

Best way of contactless is flat fares, tap on but no tap off, with daily & weekly auto capping. Anything else will always be inferior

 

[ALEMASTER]

I feel what we have in London works well - capped with a Hopper fare. It allows for value if using two short bus trips for a journey.

Biggest restriction I see to boarding/alighting speed is the use of mobile apps. I see the person with a mobile often struggling to get the phone to talk to the reader. One person in the time it takes ten or more people to get on.

Touching out on a bus might be less of a time penalty on London buses as many buses have a separate exit. There are still log jams though at busy times.

Actually the mention of apps is interesting too... three different ways of doing things on our patch:
First - drivers ticket machine scans the QR code
Stagecoach - no bar code reader on ticket machines so the app ticket is just used as a flash pass in the same way as a paper ticket
Travelmaster - the app is used to load a product to a smart card!

Then there is of course Supertram - the conductors ticket machines are fitted with bar code readers but they aren't compatible with any of the bus companies QR code systems and aren't used!

 

[43055]

With contactless payment now widespread across bus operators, it is interesting to find how different operators are implementing the technology in different ways. Go South Coast for example has separate readers for boarding and alighting, with the fare calculated based on location of the bus. Operators however can save on having exit readers by charging a flat or hopper fare.

Flat fares charge the same price every time somebody boards a bus, a bit like the £2 fares scheme now. Hopper fares on the other hand have a maximum cap for every hour travelled, allowing multiple buses to be used on a single journey within an hour without any additional charges. I’d be interested to hear people’s opinions on which system you think works best.

trentbarton and Kinchbus also use the main ticket machine as the tap off reader saving the exit reader. Suppose at the moment I don't need to tap off with the £2 fares but I still do. I find contactless tap on/tap off is better as you don't need to tell the driver where you are going saving time selecting the ticket and compared to trentbarton's mango app better as half the time it would not pick up on the reader.

 

[RT4038]

'Works best' for whom? In what context? Maximum revenue for operators or transport authorities? Cheapest fares for passengers? What sort of operations are being considered - country bus services taking 2 hours to cover 50 miles.....?

 

[Bishopstone]

Brighton & Hove/Metrobus use tap-on and tap-off, but the tap-off reader - positioned on a stanchion just behind the door - is only activated a few seconds prior to arrival at each bus stop, and regularly doesn’t work at all, so I’m not a fan of this installation though the principle is a good one.

 

[WibbleWobble]

and regularly doesn’t work at all

The fall back is that the ticket machine can also be used as a tap-off reader.

 

[route101]

Flat fare with contactless with no tap off. I always forget to tap off and don't like taking my card out when moving off the bus.

 

[GusB]

The topic of the thread is "which method of contactless payment works best". Let's stick to discussing that topic, please. If anyone has any gripes about one particular scheme, it would be best if the debate was moved to a separate thread.

Please also bear in mind that you must be respectful when replying, even if you disagree with what is being said.