Trivia: Scratchcard bus tickets

[Siemens Trains]

prepaid Metro (formerly the odd sounding Walrus) card

Perhaps the Walrus was preceded by an Egg Man card. I've never visited Liverpool and don't know the history but I'm sure they won't be short of inspiration for names similar to Day Tripper, Ticket To Ride and so on.
Maybe I'm stating the obvious however I suspect the Walrus name might have come from the similarity of the animal's tusk pattern to a map of the Wirral peninsula area.

 

[Llandudno]

Went into Buxton Tourist Information Office ( TIO ) today to ask about scratchcards for the Derbyshire Wayfarer. They only have stock which expired on 31/12/22 but are expecting new stock but don't know when. They may be mistaken but Buxton TIO are usually well informed. Also tried using the Northern "Chat" facility to ask if they are now available to buy on trains but did not get a sensible reply.

I bought a few from Chesterfield TIC last week.
The scratch cards look the same but are only valid until 30 June 2023.
Adults £14 Concessionary £7. There are no changes as far as I can make out to validity.

The lady in the shop indicated that an electronic version is due to be launched in the summer…
Presumably this should get around the current issue where you can’t buy them at unstaffed stations, from the guard or from TVMs.

Can you get 4G at Edale station to buy a ticket…!

 

[AY1975]

I bought a few from Chesterfield TIC last week.
The scratch cards look the same but are only valid until 30 June 2023.
Adults £14 Concessionary £7. There are no changes as far as I can make out to validity.

The lady in the shop indicated that an electronic version is due to be launched in the summer…
Presumably this should get around the current issue where you can’t buy them at unstaffed stations, from the guard or from TVMs.

Can you get 4G at Edale station to buy a ticket…!

Does this mean that they have produced a new batch of scratchcards just covering the period from 1st January to 30th June this year and that only have that date range on, or do they have the full date range with years going up to 2023 but with a note either on the ticket itself or given out separately saying only valid until 30th June 2023, presumably meaning that if you scratch off a date on or after 1st July 2023 the ticket won't be valid and you will have wasted it?

If you want to start your journey at Edale (or any other remote location where there's no mobile phone coverage) then I guess it'll be a case of relying on wi-fi at home or wherever you are staying (or, if there's no wi-fi or mobile data coverage where you are staying, going into an eating or drinking establishment that has wi-fi and buying your ticket while you are there).

 

[Llandudno]

Does this mean that they have produced a new batch of scratchcards just covering the period from 1st January to 30th June this year and that only have that date range on, or do they have the full date range with years going up to 2023 but with a note either on the ticket itself or given out separately saying only valid until 30th June 2023, presumably meaning that if you scratch off a date on or after 1st July 2023 the ticket won't be valid and you will have wasted it?

If you want to start your journey at Edale (or any other remote location where there's no mobile phone coverage) then I guess it'll be a case of relying on wi-fi at home or wherever you are staying (or, if there's no wi-fi or mobile data coverage where you are staying, going into an eating or drinking establishment that has wi-fi and buying your ticket while you are there).

Yes they have produced a new batch of Wayfarer scratch cards with only the first 6 months of 2023 visible to scratch off! I hope the electronic roll out isn’t delayed…!

Decent pint in The Rambler pub next to Edale station to access WiFi and hopefully buy your new electronic Derbyshire Wayfarer from 1 July, I wonder if TfGM are planning to introduce an E-Wayfarer?