Bus Conductors in other countries.

[DanielB]

Yes, capping is a feature OVpay is designed for. Another product type being introduced in more and more regions is a graduated discount: when you hit a certain spending in a month you'll get more discount and eventually you'll hit the cap and travel for free.

 

[geoffk]

Amsterdam still has a few trams with a conductor sitting at a desk halfway down the tram (opposite the main entrance). These days they don’t actually sell tickets but mainly keep an eye that everyone taps on.

I've just been to Amsterdam and was surprised to see a conductor sitting in a small cubby hole at the rear of the tram - but only on the older Siemens Combino trams, and there wasn't always one present. The newer CAF trams don't have provision for conductors.

 

[DanielB]

The newer CAF trams don't have provision for conductors.

They do have conductors however on route 25, where they use the unused cab on the rear tram of the coupled set.

 

[geoffk]

They do have conductors however on route 25, where they use the unused cab on the rear tram of the coupled set.

Didn't notice that, although I had a trip on 25.

 

[Msq71423]

The urban bus route along the Bay of Kotor from Herceg Novi had a seated conductor with a mounted manual Almex ticket machine in September 2019. A coach used to travel to Kotor also had a conductor who issued pre paid paper tickets.

I can confirm this system around Bay of Kotor is still in use as of now, albeit now on brand new buses! Board at the rear door, pay the seated conductor with their mechanical ticket machine, exit through the front door.

 

[PrincesWinsdor]

My birthplace, Hong Kong, had transitioned from having a bus conductor to fully one-man operation between 1971 and 1982. The one-man operation system was introduced by Edward Lyndon Rees. This man played a major role in improving Hong Kong's bus services.

 

[AdamWW]

My birthplace, Hong Kong, had transitioned from having a bus conductor to fully one-man operation between 1971 and 1982. The one-man operation system was introduced by Edward Lyndon Rees. This man played a major role in improving Hong Kong bus services.

Sounds not too unlike the timescale in the UK.

 

[Taunton]

I recall many years ago in Spain, the well patronised single decker urban buses had no bells, but the conductor had a piercing whistle permanently in their mouth on a short string, which they would blow, particularly for the driver to start.

Russia came back to conductors around year 2000, when fares started moving away from Soviet-era trivial amounts which were just deposited in a box by the door, known as a "trust the passenger" system. Self-appointed old ladies used to sit in the adjacent seats and enjoy scowling at the glass-fronted box device for each entrant, to see a coin had actually gone in. Those with season tickets (a large proportion) would hold them up high on entry for all, but particularly the old ladies, to see.

San Francisco's famous cablecars still have conductors, and traditional Fare Registers which apparently were once universal in the USA. Handles the length of the car are connected to a large dial device under the roof, and a loud bell, there are no tickets but for every flat fare paid the conductor reaches up, pulls the handle, resounding ding, and the dial advances by one. Presumably the conductor has to pay in at the end of the shift what the Register shows.

 

[Springs Branch]

My birthplace, Hong Kong, had transitioned from having a bus conductor to fully one-man operation between 1971 and 1982.

I remember visiting HK in the early 80s and taking a trip out to the New Territories. I was surprised to see the number of well-loaded, British-looking, traditional half cab buses (except for their stretched length, dual doors and fully opening windows) plying the roadways around the sprawling high rise housing areas of the New Territories.

These seemed to be one-man operated, with the driver supervising fare collection through the (removed?) small window between the half-cab and the front platform. I think fare boxes and flat fares were in use, but still a recipe for a sore or twisted neck.

I assumed at the time the vehicles were Leyland Titans but, with the benefit of the internet, it now seems these might have been Daimler CVG6s (KMB in Kowloon) and some Guy Arabs (CMB on HK island). Like this specimen on the excellent SCT'61 website.
(linked image shows a 92-seat Kowloon MB Daimler CVG6 double-decker at Hung Hom Ferry Terminus in 1981)

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

The "Danfo" minibuses in Lagos, Nigeria carry a conductor

 

[AY1975]

The new bus is a Switch EiV22. The back door is designed to blend into the body, with only a little window in one of the door leaves.

SWITCH EiV22 | All Electric Double Decker Bus

SWITCH EiV22: India's first all-electric double-decker bus. Clean, smart and iconic for sustainable intra-city travel.

www.switchmobilityev.com

Is it designed to be wheelchair accessible, though?

 

[Simon75]

Melbourne Australia had non when i lived there in 1990, not sure when the rest of the country did

 

[AdamWW]

Yes now you mention i remember seeing conductors on both buses and trolleybuses in Chisinau during my last visit. I recall the conductors in Chisinau still had old paper ticket rolls where they ripped off a ticket rather than a modern machine.

Well I've now tried that one for myself, getting a paper ticket as you say.

The (trolley)bus also appeared to have readers for contactless credit cards though I don't know how then the conductor would know if you'd used one.

Amusingly, at the bus stop I got on at there was a poster advertising conductor's jobs. But then I realised from the picture that what looked like the word conductor (it was of course in Romanian) actually meant driver. The one underneath was advertising for people to walk round the bus collecting fares.

 

[NCT]

In China, some cities still have conductors selling tickets on buses. It is often the result of drivers not being allowed to handle the cash, so a conductor will sell tickets to passengers.

For example in Shanghai, any bus route which ticket price varies on travelling distance will have a conductor onboard selling tickets. These conductors even have the access of lighting and and door controls on their desks behind the rear door. However, as this is a costly practice, the trend is to move towards flat fares, with passengers paying into the farebox/ticket machine beside the front door when they get on.

View attachment 185613
The conductor's desk, with the control panels locked.

Oooo brings back memories.

 

[thaitransit]

Bangkok Thailand still has a significant number of metro buses that have roving conductors on them they normally women. On private operators its often a husband and wife team. With the husband driving and the wifi collecting the fares.