MSE News: London buses to stop taking cash this summer

whatmichaelsays

G_Model101 wrote: »

Can bus drivers refuse to take notes at the moment?
I got on the other day and my Oyster had nothing on it so I tried to pay with £20, which was all I had. The driver told me that I needed £5 and that what I had was no good. Eventually he relented and let me on for nothing. I was willing to pay and I asked people if anyone had change but it was just the usual blank faces and no one wanting to put themselves out.

Anyone know what the procedure is if the driver doesn't have enough change?

Legally, it is your responsibility to tender the correct sum. The driver, or any retailer, is under no obligation to offer change and is free to refuse to serve.

ABetterLife

I'm so disappointed in TFL, but not surprised.

I have an 18+ Oyster card and usually buy a travelcard. I also have two contactless cards. I rarely use cash HOWEVER, the odd times I have done so, it's because I've had to!

Like many others have said, if you lose/forget your purse and there's no local places where you can buy an Oyster, you're f*cked. That also depends on you having enough money to buy it, as I rarely carry cash and rarely carry it outside of my purse anyhoo.

Awful decision. I knew they would do this. I can't wait until I can afford car insurance and stop paying ridiculous amounts for a crap service (which went up by £4 this year). Likewise with closing the ticket offices. More inconvenience for us, the muggins.

wealdroam

ABetterLife wrote: »

Like many others have said, if you lose/forget your purse and there's no local places where you can buy an Oyster, you're f*cked. That also depends on you having enough money to buy it, as I rarely carry cash and rarely carry it outside of my purse anyhoo.

So if you loose/forget your purse with your Oyster and your contactless cards in it, how would it help you if the buses still accepted cash?

Before answering, remember you said you "rarely carry cash and rarely carry it outside of my purse anyhoo".

ABetterLife

wealdroam wrote: »

So if you loose/forget your purse with your Oyster and your contactless cards in it, how would it help you if the buses still accepted cash?

Before answering, remember you said you "rarely carry cash and rarely carry it outside of my purse anyhoo".

Because somebody is more likely to lend you a couple of £ for the bus than a fiver for a deposit on an Oyster plus enough cash to top up for the fare (not to even mention trying to find somewhere to top up).

pinchingpenny

emweaver wrote: »

If you loose your wallet then presumably you loose your cash too? If you can get hold of cash to get the bus home then you can pop into a newsagents and buy an Oyster card as they are open late.

Much easier to borrow £2.40 from a stranger when you are in trouble than £10. My friends and I have been victims of pick-pocketing enough for me to worry about our safety getting home.
Does anyone know if it's possible to pay for two passengers with one contactless card? Say for instance one person has their purse stolen and the other person uses contactless and has no Oyster?

iAMaLONDONER

pinchingpenny wrote: »

Much easier to borrow £2.40 from a stranger when you are in trouble than £10. My friends and I have been victims of pick-pocketing enough for me to worry about our safety getting home.
Does anyone know if it's possible to pay for two passengers with one contactless card? Say for instance one person has their purse stolen and the other person uses contactless and has no Oyster?

No you need 1 Contactless/oyster card per passenger.

You can get a UFN (at the driver's discretion, though)

geerex

It's actually embarrassing how many people on this thread can't tell the difference between loose and lose.

Kimberley

I'm a Bus Driver and me and all the other drivers are thrilled to not have to deal with cash anymore

It's a pain having to tell people you cannot accept a note because you have no change, the arguments it creates, what are we supposed to do? We are not given a float so any change comes from either change from passengers fares or your own pocket and no way will we pay from our own money. Also I wouldn't accept no more then a £5 note anyway because of forgeries. If we take a forgery then we have to replace it from our own money so I always say I don't have change even if I do.

If late at night and shops are closed then I'd let you on if you had no money on your card but to be honest it is up to you to ensure your Oyster card always has at least one fare on it and if you get on without topping up after using up your emergency fare then you will not be allowed to travel.

So if you don't want to be refused travel then please keep your Oyster card topped up or ask your Bank for a contactless payment card

PasturesNew

As an occasional user of buses, one of the reasons I've not used them much before has been a combination of not knowing how much it'd cost - and fears that any bus might only want the exact money .... and if I've just been to a cashpoint to get the money that leaves another dilemma.

As for London.... I never understood the Oyster thingy there.... never seen one.... I think we can assume that should I ever be in London I'll be walking everywhere with a little map in my hand.

martindow

PasturesNew wrote: »

As for London.... I never understood the Oyster thingy there.... never seen one.... I think we can assume that should I ever be in London I'll be walking everywhere with a little map in my hand.

PN you sound a bit like my grandmother baffled when her bank sent her an Access card years ago!

It's not that difficult and there is always the option of getting a day travelcard. Many occasional visitors do this as you are likely to want to go by tube as well. You can buy these combined with day return railway tickets and it takes all the worry away from getting the wrong bus or missing your stop.

Mind you, walking with your little map is the ultimate MSE strategy.