The only apps I will have on my phone apart from the default are WhatsApp, Google Maps, Galileo Maps, the BA app and several web browsers, and that's the way it's going to stay. I certainly won't be downloading an app to take a bus once.
(I might have posted this on another thread already but can't remember.)
Regarding exact fare boxes and lack of information, I took a First bus in Glasgow for the first time recently and it was a bit annoying to have to bring enough coins to make up all possible amounts, since the website was as clear as mud about how much my ticket would cost.
The only other place where I've taken buses with exact fare boxes are in Hong Kong, where every bus stop has full information about the route and the fares from every stop (but timetable information is awful). In contrast to Glasgow where the driver does an in-depth analysis of what you put in and then has to issue a ticket (which I didn't realise), in Hong Kong if you pay in cash the driver doesn't even bother looking at what you put in the box - you just dump the money and walk on without stopping.
Two German backpackers got on the Glasgow bus and offered a £20 note (!!) The driver actually told them to go into a shop and get change, while he waited (he was early), but the shopkeeper refused, so he let them travel for free.
I don't see any UK bus operators upgrading to the Japanese style of bus which I tried on my trip to Kyoto last year. You could pay by a prepaid smartcard, or cash, but there was a machine to count the fare so the driver didn't have to touch anything. This machine only accepted the exact fare, but if you didn't have the right change, you just put a note into the change machine, also on the bus, and it will give you the coins you need.
The amount of people that are caught i see on edinburgh trams , i mean tourists and first time users .Quite strict ask you to get off at next stop and use ticket machine
Well, they're supposed to charge the on-board fare* of £10, so they are actually being quite lenient.
*Now why can't other operators just have on-board fares instead of penalty fares