Trivia: Pay As You Go on UK bus services

[Edvid]

Outside of TfL, combined authorities and the Big Five operators, where is it (usually named Tap On Tap Off) in operation?

To be clear, I mean individual operators and/or multi-operator zones. To get things started, Grant Palmer and Leicester Flexi are two respective examples.

 

[Joshua_Harman]

I Think reading buses have it coming soon, with exit readers on lots of their buses now.

 

[Busaholic]

Outside of TfL, combined authorities and the Big Five operators, where is it (usually named Tap On Tap Off) in operation?

To be clear, I mean individual operators and/or multi-operator zones. To get things started, Grant Palmer and Leicester Flexi are two respective examples.

You don't tap off on London buses: flat fare, no need.

 

[Wolfie]

You don't tap off on London buses: flat fare, no need.

You beat me to it!

 

[MrJeeves]

Outside of TfL, combined authorities and the Big Five operators, where is it (usually named Tap On Tap Off) in operation?

To be clear, I mean individual operators and/or multi-operator zones. To get things started, Grant Palmer and Leicester Flexi are two respective examples.

Most (all?) Go-Ahead operated bus services have or are getting it.

Brighton & Hove and MetroBus do TOTO, for example.

 

[Mikw]

I have used tap on/tap off in Leicester before, it usually works, but on a couple of occassions it didn't cap. Managed to get a refund though, but have gone back to buying Flexi paper tickers.

 

[_toommm_]

Leeds has it on FirstBus.

 

[Edvid]

You don't tap off on London buses: flat fare, no need.

Hence why I said usually named Tap On Tap Off, outside TfL (etc). It's non-London English PAYG in general that I'm asking about.

EDIT: I see mods have changed the title to UK bus services, so feel free to add SCO/WAL/NIR examples too.

 

[KT550]

Metrobus in Kent, Surrey and Sussex offer T.O.T.O.

Tap On Tap Off with Contactless

Tap On, Tap Off with Contactless - everything you need to know.

www.metrobus.co.uk

 

[Busaholic]

Hence why I said usually named Tap On Tap Off, outside TfL (etc). It's non-London English PAYG in general that I'm asking about.

EDIT: I see mods have changed the title to UK bus services, so feel free to add SCO/WAL/NIR examples too.

Well, it wouldn't be named that on London buses because it's not what happens.

 

[Ridercross]

Diamond Bus West Midlands do it, but not sure if other Rotala group companies offer it.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Oxford Bus Co/Thames Travel have the Go-Ahead version too

 

[johncrossley]

Most (all?) Go-Ahead operated bus services have or are getting it.

Go North East only have it on a few routes but will probably roll it out fully in due course. Go North West don't have it, but their network is going to be replaced by the Bee Network soon.

 

[dgl]

First Wessex have had the readers installed but they're not operational yet.

 

[Edvid]

Outside of the combined authorities, where I live (Luton) may be unusual insofar as only the small independent has PAYG; same goes for Bedford (Arriva / Stagecoach are their respective big operators). There can't be many non-PTE independents with (or about to enable) PAYG but I'd be somewhat surprised if Grant Palmer / Reading Buses were the only ones.

 

[43055]

trentbarton and Kinchbus have tap on tap off. Unlike I think other operators you tap off on the same machine rather than useing a separate top off terminal.

 

[cav1975]

Southern Vectis (Go ahead) has done it for some time with a daily cap. Less relevant with the effective £2 flat fare, but still available.

 

[175mph]

Leeds has it on FirstBus.

Bristol also has it on FirstBus. I used it on a bus from Temple Meads station to Broadmead when I was there on Thursday.

 

[MotCO]

Go North East only have it on a few routes but will probably roll it out fully in due course. Go North West don't have it, but their network is going to be replaced by the Bee Network soon.

First Wessex have had the readers installed but they're not operational yet.

Oxford Bus Co/Thames Travel have the Go-Ahead version too

Southern Vectis (Go ahead) has done it for some time with a daily cap. Less relevant with the effective £2 flat fare, but still available.

Bristol also has it on FirstBus. I used it on a bus from Temple Meads station to Broadmead when I was there on Thursday.

Wasn't the OP asking for examples outside of the 'Big Five'? I asume 'Big Five' means Stagecoach, Go-Ahead, Arriva, Nat Exp and First?

 

[danm14]

It's available on Translink's Metro network in Belfast - but it costs the same as a day ticket purchased by other means (and 30p/day more than a bundle of 5 day tickets) for significantly less validity (not valid on Glider services and not valid on all of the Ulsterbus services which accept Metro tickets)

 

[markymark2000]

Worth noting Leicester flexi TOTO doesn't cover Roberts Park and Ride and not does it cover Vectare so outside of the 'big 5', it's just Centebus. (Paper tickets are accepted on Vectare, just not Tap on, tap off)


This will surprise you but almost all of North Wales including the independents.

I don't know about how well it caps and if it caps operator specific or whether the only cap is 1Bws but it is live on most North Wales independents.

 

[johncrossley]

combined authorities

Does any combined authority have pay as you go? In some places you can use a smartcard instead of cash to pay for single tickets, but that has been largely made obsolete by contactless payment using bank cards and isn't really pay as you go anyway as it requires a conversation with the driver. I didn't think you could use pay as you go/tap in tap off in any combined authority area other than for single operator tickets.

 

[duncanp]

Does any combined authority have pay as you go? In some places you can use a smartcard instead of cash to pay for single tickets, but that has been largely made obsolete by contactless payment using bank cards and isn't really pay as you go anyway as it requires a conversation with the driver. I didn't think you could use pay as you go/tap in tap off in any combined authority area other than for single operator tickets.

National Express West Midlands have contactless payment, where you tap on (for a single fare of £2) and a limit of £4 per day.

 

[johncrossley]

National Express West Midlands have contactless payment, where you tap on (for a single fare of £2) and a limit of £4 per day.

That's a single company ticket, not a combined authority offering.

 

[James H]

In Bournemouth, Yellow Buses launched TOTO in July 2022 (with a multi-operator capping arrangement with Morebus) but the firm collapsed a month later.

 

[Edvid]

Does any combined authority have pay as you go? In some places you can use a smartcard instead of cash to pay for single tickets, but that has been largely made obsolete by contactless payment using bank cards and isn't really pay as you go anyway as it requires a conversation with the driver. I didn't think you could use pay as you go/tap in tap off in any combined authority area other than for single operator tickets.

Perhaps not. Nonetheless, pricing caps on single-operator PAYG will be influenced by whatever CA-subsidised multi-operator day/weekly/etc passes are already in place.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Aug 2023 ==

Wasn't the OP asking for examples outside of the 'Big Five'? I asume 'Big Five' means Stagecoach, Go-Ahead, Arriva, Nat Exp and First?

I was, though it seems the horse has bolted. I appreciate the assist though.

 

[JD2168]

First Doncaster has a Tap on Tap off system in place.

 

[padbus]

Cardiff Bus has tap-on-tap-off.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Leeds has it on FirstBus.

Arriva too. I think most if not all operators in West Yorkshire have it now, though tapping off is only required on short journeys that would be under £2, otherwise the flat £2 fare is charged (unless you've already reached the daily cap).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Aug 2023 ==

Does any combined authority have pay as you go? In some places you can use a smartcard instead of cash to pay for single tickets, but that has been largely made obsolete by contactless payment using bank cards and isn't really pay as you go anyway as it requires a conversation with the driver. I didn't think you could use pay as you go/tap in tap off in any combined authority area other than for single operator tickets.

West Yorkshire does. Not sure if all the smaller operators are equipped for tapping on and off yet, but the daily cap is the price of the multi-operator MetroDay ticket or whatever it's called this month.

 

[Buzby]

In Glasgow Stagecoach and FirstGlasgow are running with TOTO, a few of McGills vehicles have exit read but I don’ think it’s operational yet.