MSE News: No more cash fares on London buses from Sunday

124»

Comments

  • James_Fortune
    James_Fortune Posts: 3 Newbie
    edited 19 August 2014 at 12:18AM
    I live in Surrey and rarely come in to London.

    The exception was on Sunday when I came into Clapham to have lunch with my grown-up children.

    It was lovely occasion and afterwards my son and I decided to walk back to Clapham Junction station.

    I should say that I am elderly and suffer from leukaemia.

    The walk became a bit much for me and so we flagged down and boarded a bus. My son bleeped his Oyster Card and I proffered my cash. I was then told that I cannot pay for a trip on a bus using money! Why? The bus driver didn't know. Apparently, my credit cards were no good either! I was told I would need to go and buy something from a shop which, of course, was nowhere near where we were.

    The obvious solution was that my son simply bleeps his Oyster Card a second time to pay for me and I pay him back the small price of the trip. Nope, that wasn't acceptable either. Why on Earth not?

    In the end, an old and infirm man was turfed of the bus to boos and cries of "disgraceful!" from the other passengers and we had to walk very slowly all the way!!

    How can this be right? What reason could there possibly be for this? It certainly can't be time as the time we took discussing this was FAR LONGER than a quick cash transaction would take and a certain way for there being NO hold up whatsoever is to bring conductors back.

    Could it be security? Worried about carrying cash? Well, that issue has been solved successfully ever since the beginning of the omnibus in the 1820s.

    So what can possibly be the reason for this utterly disgraceful and careless ruling? A law that makes no sense should not exist in a democracy.

    How are tourists (the lifeblood of London) supposed to cope? Speaking little of the language and struggling with strange currency they are then told they can't travel on a bus!!!!!

    Clearly this policy has not been thought out at all and I hope, deeply, that you re-think it very soon.

    I haven't been on a bus for years and years so there's no point in me getting an Oyster Card. How am I ever supposed to travel on a bus?

    A society that doesn't look after its old and its sick is NOT a society!

    Shame on TFL!
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    The other way of paying is by contactless debit card, which most banks seem to issue these days
  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,198
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    The obvious solution was that my son simply bleeps his Oyster Card a second time to pay for me and I pay him back the small price of the trip. Nope, that wasn't acceptable either. Why on Earth not?
    I'm sorry the driver was not more sympathetic, but a single Oyster card cannot be used to pay two fares. I'm surprised your son did not know about cash fares disappearing as automated announcements were annoying bus passengers for months!
  • Kimberley
    Kimberley Posts: 14,871 Forumite
    martindow wrote: »
    I'm sorry the driver was not more sympathetic, but a single Oyster card cannot be used to pay two fares. I'm surprised your son did not know about cash fares disappearing as automated announcements were annoying bus passengers for months!

    Your quite right, as a Bus driver I get loads of people trying to pay two fares with the same Oyster card but you can't, not yet anyway ;-) x
  • aleph_0
    aleph_0 Posts: 539
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    James: Each oyster card is capped daily at a certain rate depending on the types/zones of the journeys. So your son tapping in twice might not have paid for your trip, because it would count towards his daily cap. Making an oyster card suitable for more than one person would probably require a major software change.

    The thing is, cash transactions are costly - in terms of processing the cash, the risk of carrying the cash and change, and the time taken to process each transaction. Most people do now have oyster, or a contactless card, and they are easy enough to get for both visitors and locals.

    I don't think that makes London particularly bad. I've been to other European cities where I've had to pre-purchase bus tickets before travelling.

    I sympathise with you, of course. The fact that neither you or your son had a contactless card whilst making an impulse trip is quite unlucky. But that doesn't make accepting cash a good idea in general. Drivers are meant to be sympathetic when I lone or vulnerable person is stranded, but you were clearly safe in you were accompanied, and had other options (keep on walking, taxi).
  • wealdroam
    wealdroam Posts: 19,181
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    What reason could there possibly be for this?
    I guess you didn't bother to read the article that this thread is supposed to be about?

    Particularly the bit:
    Transport for London says only 0.7% of bus passengers pay by cash, and it'll save £24 million each year and speed up services by scrapping the fares.
    A saving of £24 million sounds like a good enough reason to me.
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    wealdroam wrote: »
    A saving of £24 million sounds like a good enough reason to me.


    Except that in the context of an organisation as large as TfL it's chicken feed.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards