Cashless bus services.

[BlueLeanie]

I gather some bus routes in Northern Ireland do exactly that. Some operated by Republic-based companies and with both ends in the Republic but passing through UK territory on route do apparently only accept payment in Euro. I don't know whether they take cash or cards: the question of cross-border payment card validity might be yet another complication to the 'cashless' debate.

No issues at all.

For example, I load my Starbucks account with £s (10% discount through work obviously), and can use it the USA in $s processed at the inter-bank rates.

I'm happily tapping my Virgin Card, First Direct or Halifax card all around the world on buses, parking meters, and in shops & restaurants and paying no extra fx fees.

You're wasting your time desperately trying to find exceptions and complications when the real world is getting on with it.

 

[kevjs]

The issue is that nowhere outside of London has any Oyster Card equivalent. People using cash in London still have fairly easy access to an Oyster Card for paying with cash. I would say around 99% of Greater London is within short walking distance of a convenience shop that sells and tops up Oyster Cards with cash or a railway station or tube station ticket machine that sells and tops ups Oyster Cards with cash. But nowhere outside of London has anything like this.

Nottingham has the Robin Hood Network car, and both Nottingham City Transport & Trent Barton have their own single operator PAYG cards. They can be topped up at any tram stop or the Travel Centre.

I assume you meant just "tap on", certain London Service Permit routes aside. The Nottingham City Transport "tap on" system (they use INIT instead of Ticketer) is a great example of this as well.

Awaiting further progress with Project Coral, perhaps?

Nottingham City Transport's scheme of course pre-dates Oyster (from the season ticket aspect) - although all the cards were replaced when they upgraded the system.

Mandatory TOTO off stops you from being able to offer groupsave tickets.
While it doesn't matter so much in London where it's £1.75, now the fares have gone up to £3 it only takes 2 people to make a taxi cheaper for a shortish hops.

In Palma on Mallorca you can tap on with the same card multiple times - shows the passenger count increasing, and then tap off the same way offering group discounts as part of that https://www.tib.org/en/bitllets-i-tarifes/targeta-bancaria (details in English). So Tap On/Off with Group discounts.

Also, with mobile phone apps and cheques no longer really being a thing, you can easily keep track of your account balance, much more easily in fact than counting cash in your wallet.

What was noticeable in Berlin (a famously "Cash Only" city* with a Cashless bus network) was how many kids were using their phones to pay for stuff in the shops. On the bus/rail network there was no faffing with tap on or tap off as tickets were bought in the app - which frankly for a tourist it's much more annoying having to have a suite of apps with your card details on if you travel regularly than using Contactless Tap On/Tap Off.

* Surprisingly it was a very annoying mixture of Cash Only & Contactless Only.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Legal tender is only relevant to the payment of a debt into a Court. Any business is free to stipulate what payment methods they accept and are not legally obliged to take cash nor indeed Sterling at all, they could stipulate Euro if they wanted.

I seem to remember that someone (Bournemouth Transport?) began taking Euros in the 1990s. First Bristol also accepted Bristol Pounds during the late 2010s.

Life and technology have moved on and cash is still used, but it is fading. Like cheques, cash will be around for a while.
Bus companies will adapt their businesses to suit the local needs and practicalities - if that turns out to be cashless then so be it.

Exactly. To say cheques are a bit niche... My chequebook has seven left in it and at current rate of usage, it will last me another nine years. That said, I've not written one in 2.5 years.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What was noticeable in Berlin (a famously "Cash Only" city* with a Cashless bus network) was how many kids were using their phones to pay for stuff in the shops. On the bus/rail network there was no faffing with tap on or tap off as tickets were bought in the app - which frankly for a tourist it's much more annoying having to have a suite of apps with your card details on if you travel regularly than using Contactless Tap On/Tap Off.

Germany often doesn't bother with revenue protection other than random checks even on buses. The result of this is that Schwarzfahren, basically "dark travel", is a national sport. The approach was tried here in London and quickly stopped due to losing so much money to fare dodgers.

 

[stevieinselby]

To say cheques are a bit niche... My chequebook has seven left in it and at current rate of usage, it will last me another nine years. That said, I've not written one in 2.5 years.

I haven't even had a chequebook for the last 9 years, probably longer than that!

 

[stuu]

In Palma on Mallorca you can tap on with the same card multiple times - shows the passenger count increasing, and then tap off the same way offering group discounts as part of that https://www.tib.org/en/bitllets-i-tarifes/targeta-bancaria (details in English). So Tap On/Off with Group discounts.


What was noticeable in Berlin (a famously "Cash Only" city* with a Cashless bus network) was how many kids were using their phones to pay for stuff in the shops. On the bus/rail network there was no faffing with tap on or tap off as tickets were bought in the app - which frankly for a tourist it's much more annoying having to have a suite of apps with your card details on if you travel regularly than using Contactless Tap On/Tap Off.

* Surprisingly it was a very annoying mixture of Cash Only & Contactless Only.

In Palma it's only the TIB buses which take contactless, those are the ones across the island. The city buses run by a different company don't take contactless.

We did an Interrail trip last year and the first place I had to use cash was a ride in the Prater amusement park in Vienna, having previously been in Germany, Sweden and Poland and never needed any cash anywhere. Germany has changed a lot since I was last there before COVID in terms of card acceptance

 

[Poiuytre]

I believe that NBC Companies used to accept postage stamps as a form of payment. I know that this did carry on if the Company was brought by FirstGroup (unsure about other companies such as Stagecoach). Have First formally announced that they don't accept postage stamps as payment - I suspect not. Therefore unless anyone is more informed than me, you can use stamps on a First ex-NBC Companies services.

 

[berneyarms]

Irish buses don't take bank cards but instead accept the Leap smartcard which has an electronic purse like an Oyster card. Fares are cheaper using a Leap card.

Expressway and other commercial operators do accept bank cards.

It’s the PSO network that doesn’t but, as you say, does have LEAP which offers 30% off cash fares.

 

[Deerfold]

Nottingham has the Robin Hood Network car, and both Nottingham City Transport & Trent Barton have their own single operator PAYG cards. They can be topped up at any tram stop or the Travel Centre.


Nottingham City Transport's scheme of course pre-dates Oyster (from the season ticket aspect) - although all the cards were replaced when they upgraded the system.

In West Yorkshire the MCard can have day or season tickets bought and loaded at Travel Centres using cash or card. This is valid on all bus companies (or all rail and bus companies) in the county.
There is a white card which can have a cash value loaded which can be used on *almost* all bus companies to buy singles or operator day tickets or a paper MCard Day.
Young People's cards can have cash loaded and also act as proof of eligibility for half fare.

I seem to remember that someone (Bournemouth Transport?) began taking Euros in the 1990s. First Bristol also accepted Bristol Pounds during the late 2010s.


Exactly. To say cheques are a bit niche... My chequebook has seven left in it and at current rate of usage, it will last me another nine years. That said, I've not written one in 2.5 years.

I'm not sure if they still are, but Euros were accepted on the airport buses liking Leeds Bradford Airport with Leeds and Bradford for many years.

Legal Tender not excepted then? wrong if that is the case.

I'm assuming you mean accepted? "Legal tender not excepted" means it is accepted.

And few people seem to know what "Legal tender" means.