MSE News: London buses may stop taking cash next year

liz545 · 28 September 2013 at 7:23PM

I live in London, and have an Oyster card so I hardly ever pay cash on the buses, but I still think it would be a terrible idea to abolish cash fares. The consultation says that the main reason people pay cash is because they don't have enough on their Oyster card, and that most people who do pay cash do so fairly infrequently. Passengers who can pay shouldn't be refused travel, particularly on night bus routes, where they might be at risk of crime and assault. There was a case a couple of years ago where a bus driver in Nottingham refused to let a girl on the bus because she was 20p short of the fare, and she was subsequently raped and nearly killed while walking home. Turning away passengers, particularly on night bus routes, is irresponsible and flies in the face of the work TfL have been doing to warn people about the dangers of unlicensed minicabs and getting in the car with a driver who's been drinking. I've responded to the consultation, but I think ChattyChappy's right - they've made up their minds and they don't care about what passengers think or passenger safety.