What happens when you forget to ‘tap off’ on a contactless bus journey?

[PTR 444]

In recent months, many bus operators have introduced ‘tap-on, tap-off’ systems, designed to speed up boarding by not having to communicate with the driver. While in general it is a good principle, the tap-off element is not that familiar to many bus users and I’m sure as a result, quite a few passengers have forgotten to do so before disembarking. The big question is what actually happens?

• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged the standard fare to that point.
• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged a reduced or no fare (which would be counterproductive as it would encourage mass fare evasion).
• A fixed charge higher than the highest possible fare is applied as a ‘punishment’ for forgetting to ‘tap off’
• The transaction keeps on going until the card which was used on the driver’s contactless reader is tapped on the exit reader. This would be a very worrying scenario as it would rack up a HUGE bill unless the user somehow managed to catch up with the same bus they just disembarked.
• The driver sees that you have disembarked and ends the transaction on your behalf
• The driver somehow prevents you from getting off the bus until you have done so.
• A combination of all of the above scenarios
• Some other scenario

Some of these are worrying scenarios for anyone on a tight budget, so I would be interested to know what actually happens.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I believe with most schemes you would be charged to the terminus of the route.

 

[carlberry]

In recent months, many bus operators have introduced ‘tap-on, tap-off’ systems, designed to speed up boarding by not having to communicate with the driver. While in general it is a good principle, the tap-off element is not that familiar to many bus users and I’m sure as a result, quite a few passengers have forgotten to do so before disembarking. The big question is what actually happens?

• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged the standard fare to that point.
• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged a reduced or no fare (which would be counterproductive as it would encourage mass fare evasion).
• A fixed charge higher than the highest possible fare is applied as a ‘punishment’ for forgetting to ‘tap off’
• The transaction keeps on going until the card which was used on the driver’s contactless reader is tapped on the exit reader. This would be a very worrying scenario as it would rack up a HUGE bill unless the user somehow managed to catch up with the same bus they just disembarked.
• The driver sees that you have disembarked and ends the transaction on your behalf
• The driver somehow prevents you from getting off the bus until you have done so.
• A combination of all of the above scenarios
• Some other scenario

Some of these are worrying scenarios for anyone on a tight budget, so I would be interested to know what actually happens.

1 or 3 are the most likely, the problem with tap on-tap off is that it assumes 100% compliance from everybody. 5 and 6 are certainly not viable.

 

[GusB]

In recent months, many bus operators have introduced ‘tap-on, tap-off’ systems, designed to speed up boarding by not having to communicate with the driver. While in general it is a good principle, the tap-off element is not that familiar to many bus users and I’m sure as a result, quite a few passengers have forgotten to do so before disembarking. The big question is what actually happens?

• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged the standard fare to that point.
• The transaction is ‘cancelled’ upon the bus reaching its terminus and you are charged a reduced or no fare (which would be counterproductive as it would encourage mass fare evasion).
• A fixed charge higher than the highest possible fare is applied as a ‘punishment’ for forgetting to ‘tap off’
• The transaction keeps on going until the card which was used on the driver’s contactless reader is tapped on the exit reader. This would be a very worrying scenario as it would rack up a HUGE bill unless the user somehow managed to catch up with the same bus they just disembarked.
• The driver sees that you have disembarked and ends the transaction on your behalf
• The driver somehow prevents you from getting off the bus until you have done so.
• A combination of all of the above scenarios
• Some other scenario

Some of these are worrying scenarios for anyone on a tight budget, so I would be interested to know what actually happens.

Your first port of call should be the websites of the companies who operate these schemes.

Searching Google for "first tap on tap off", the first result was for Leeds:

Tap on Tap off

How to Tap On Tap Off You can now Tap On Tap Off when buying adult fares in most of the areas we operate in across the country.

www.firstbus.co.uk

What happens if I forget to 'Tap off'?
You'll be charged the Single fare to the end of the journey of the bus you were travelling on - so please remember to 'Tap off'! We all make mistakes, so if you need any assistance let us know.

 

[Gloster]

Southern Vectis say that you will be charged the single fare to the end of the route. Presumably, if you reach the daily cap this doesn’t matter, but if you are only making a single journey it might turn £2.60 into £4.60. In such circumstances you can ‘contact customer services’.

 

[RT4038]

I believe with most schemes you would be charged to the terminus of the route.

I believe so too. It is the only practicable method.

 

[43055]

Trent Barton's mango would charge to the end of the journey so I would imagine tap on tap off will be the same.

 

[181]

Adding to the consensus, Thames Travel/Oxford Bus Company say this:

What happens if I forget to “tap off”?
You will be charged the single fare to the end of the route, so always remember to “tap off” in order to pay the correct fare. If you do forget to “tap off” and are overcharged as a result, please log in at mytrips.uk.littlepay.com/go-oxford, where you'll be able to view your journeys and request that the charge is reviewed if necessary. You'll need to enter your card details so we know it's you, but you won't be charged. Note this must be done within 90 days of travel. If you don't have access to a web browser to do this, please email us at [email protected].

This actually happened to me the other day -- I rarely use the Freeflow system and normally just use my card to buy a ticket, but on this occasion the driver seemed to be telling everyone with a card to 'just tap in' (and didn't seem very interested in people trying to show him return tickets) and I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to tap out or what would happen if I did so unnecessarily. I should probably have asked, but for whatever reason I just got off the bus without tapping. I've just checked at the website specified, and it does indeed appear as an incompete journey, charged as a single fare to the end of the route. There's a button to click to ask for it to be corrected (you can put in what you think you should have paid, and make a comment), but as I travelled to the end of the route anyway, and didn't need a return ticket, what I paid is in fact the correct fare.

 

[Gloster]

If you don't have access to a web browser to do this, please email us at [email protected].

And if you don’t have internet at all, what do you do? Or is the whole thing set up so that you can’t sign up in the first place unless you have internet?

 

[Joshua_Harman]

Go-Ahead group will charge you to the end of that route, no penalty or anything just instead of a destination on your history it says "awaiting tap close" Or "Incomplete" But not have any financial repercussions or addiontional fares charged and will still be included in any relevent cap that you had earned,
Uni-Link bus captains in southampton regularly would neglect to tell people how to tap off, as its a flat fare route, which is fine I guess until they start to use other routes, especially long distance ones :/


A Copy of an old statement of mine (from Go South Coast) Demonstrating what happens if/when you neglect to touch out using tap on tap off,

 

[PG]

Uni-Link bus captains

World's gone mad, call a spade a spade; or a bus driver in this case!

 

[Andy Pacer]

Same with Arriva in Leicestershire regarding charge to the end of the route if people forget to tap off:

Arriva Bus

www.arrivabus.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's the only sensible approach. It provides a nudge for people to touch off, avoids the need for huge contact centres or complex AI to fix it, and avoids penalising people unnecessarily.

I don't know if they do, but conversely it makes sense to charge back to the start of the route if you didn't touch in but did touch out and weren't caught by an inspector.

TBH I don't entirely get why TfL has all the complexity of "unresolved journeys" and doesn't just charge a maximum single fare (or nothing, if the cap has been hit) if it happens with no option to fix unless there were mitigating circumstances like an evacuation. It must cost them a fortune in staff time.

 

[route101]

Go-Ahead group will charge you to the end of that route, no penalty or anything just instead of a destination on your history it says "awaiting tap close" Or "Incomplete" But not have any financial repercussions or addiontional fares charged and will still be included in any relevent cap that you had earned,
Uni-Link bus captains in southampton regularly would neglect to tell people how to tap off, as its a flat fare route, which is fine I guess until they start to use other routes, especially long distance ones :/


A Copy of an old statement of mine (from Go South Coast) Demonstrating what happens if/when you neglect to touch out using tap on tap off,

I always forget to tap out on Bluestar. A few times the machine to tap out wasn't working. I take it after 6pm, you don't need to tap out as its £1 fare?

 

[181]

And if you don’t have internet at all, what do you do? Or is the whole thing set up so that you can’t sign up in the first place unless you have internet?

No -- anyone with a contactless card can use it.

I don't knowhow you'd be reading the FAQs without a web browser, though. Maybe they're on a printed leaflet somewhere, or maybe you just have to find out from someone who does have Internet access.