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Bus operators that do not use Ticketer machines.

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stadler

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How many bus operators use ticket machines other than the common Ticketer machines? I am trying to make a list of which ones still exist so would appreciate if anyone knows of any others?

Ticketer has completely taken over. Within ten years they have gone from less the 5% of operators using them to over 95% of operators using them. Both big and small operators are now using them. Even lots of tiny community bus operators now have handheld Ticketer machines.

It certainly makes it less interesting for collecting tickets. There used to be so much variety of types.

The only operators i can think of not using Ticketer are these:

Autocar - Wayfarer 6
Bus Eireann - Wayfarer TGX150
Dublin Bus - Wayfarer TGX150
Lothian - Wayfarer 6
NCT Nottingham - INIT (not sure what model?)
NX Coventry - INIT (not sure what model?)
NX West Midlands - INIT (not sure what model?)
Stagecoach - VIX ERG TP5800
TFL Buses - Wayfarer TG150
Translink - Wayfarer 6

I would particularly be interested in any operators still using any of these machines:

Almex A90
Almex Optima
Almex Optima BL
INIT EVENDpc
VIX ERG TP5000
VIX ERG TP5600
VIX ERG TP5700
VIX ERG TP5800
Wayfarer 1
Wayfarer 2
Wayfarer 3
Wayfarer Saver
Wayfarer TG150
Wayfarer TGX150
Wayfarer TGX200
Wayfarer 6

So many of these machines used to be extremely common up until not long ago but they all seem to have disappeared.

Sussex Coaches were the last operator i knew of to use Wayfarer Saver machines. But they switched to Ticketer in January 2025 about eight months ago.

Bus Eireann were still using Wayfarer 3 machines on buses based at a couple of their smaller rural depots when i last checked in January 2024 but i am not sure if this is still the case. If anyone knows that would be interesting to hear.
 
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Edvid

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Liberty Bus use the Transmach TM700, whereas NIBS Buses, Stephensons of Essex and Scottish Citylink use the older Transmach TM500. Other operators with TM500s are obliquely listed here but I don't know if any have changed supplier since then.
stadler said:
TFL Buses - Wayfarer TG150
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The TG150s' days with TfL are numbered but delays to iBus2 implementation means they'll be around for approaching a year longer than they would otherwise. As far as I can tell they'll be replaced by INIT TOUCHmdt consoles (drawing here) and the 'Hina' Oyster readers.
stadler said:
Stagecoach - VIX ERG TP5800
Click to expand...
I'm curious as to what these will be replaced with after the existing contract with Vix ends next year.
 
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stadler

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Edvid said:
Liberty Bus use the Transmach TM700, whereas NIBS Buses, Stephensons of Essex and Scottish Citylink use the older Transmach TM500. Other operators with TM500s are obliquely listed here but I don't know if any have changed supplier since then.

The TG150s' days with TfL are numbered but delays to iBus2 implementation means they'll be around for approaching a year longer than they would otherwise. As far as I can tell they'll be replaced by INIT TOUCHmdt consoles (drawing here) and the 'Hina' Oyster readers.

I'm curious as to what these will be replaced with after the existing contract with Vix ends next year.
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I forgot about those Transmach machines. They seem to be a fairly new one that is gaining in popularity. Now that you mention it i think that i saw a Cardinal Buses vehicle in Surrey with a Transmach machine (a TM500 one) quite a few months back.

It looks like they do at least four models:

Transmach TM150
Transmach TM500
Transmach TM700
Transmach TM920

I find the design of them very odd. On the TM500 ones they are large full size machines but the printer is under the screen in front of the driver. So the driver has to take the ticket and hand it to the passenger. On all other ticket machines it comes out the side and the passenger simply takes the ticket themselves. But it looks like the new TM700 has a more common side printer.

That is interesting about Liberty Bus in Jersey replacing Ticketer machines with Transmach TM700 machines. That must be the first time an operator has got rid of Ticketer and replaced it with something else.

Another rare type of machine was Tixiom who i think only had two customers. Trustybus in the Essex and Hertfordshire border area and Dorset County Council on their old public routes used to use them in the mid 2010s.

That is rather strange that TFL are keeping the existing Oyster readers and casing but just replacing the machine. You would think it would make sense to replace the entire thing as the oyster readers and casing must be about 25 years old now.
 
christopher

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Probably a lot easier to use the old Oyster readers in terms of rolling the new system out, can just take the old machine out and new one slots in
 
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stadler

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christopher said:
Probably a lot easier to use the old Oyster readers in terms of rolling the new system out, can just take the old machine out and new one slots in
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That is true but the Oyster readers are so old and will surely beed replacing in the near future too. Also if they replaced it all then they could simply put the new Oyster reader on the handrail as you enter the bus and then have the drivers control screen where the ticket machine is. This would allow TFL to order buses with full sealed security screens without needing a special gap for the oyster reader to fit.
 
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Edvid

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stadler said:
I find the design of them very odd. On the TM500 ones they are large full size machines but the printer is under the screen in front of the driver. So the driver has to take the ticket and hand it to the passenger.
Click to expand...
As someone used to Ticketer (and the occasional HID add-on* for Stagecoach) I found it odd having the TM500 barcode scanner behind the driver display when I used Stephensons some weeks ago. I don't know if the scans took place but drivers recognised and accepted my Intalink Connect ticket anyway.

[* I think the barcode scanners on Cubic gatelines are also HID products]
stadler said:
That is rather strange that TFL are keeping the existing Oyster readers and casing but just replacing the machine. You would think it would make sense to replace the entire thing as the oyster readers and casing must be about 25 years old now.
Click to expand...
christopher said:
Probably a lot easier to use the old Oyster readers in terms of rolling the new system out, can just take the old machine out and new one slots in
Click to expand...
Hina is the new Oyster reader - also designed by Cubic - which is under development and achieved PCI Level 1 compliance earlier this year. Replacement of all readers across the bus fleet and rail estate has been delayed as software development (that's as detailed as TfL are willing to be) is taking significantly longer than planned.

The new readers will also be compatible with both the existing (Prestige) and replacement (Proteus) Oyster systems.
 
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M60lad

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Yes all companies signed up to Manchester's Bee Network use the Android Ticketer Machines including Stagecoach Manchester
 
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Observer

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stadler said:
I find the design of them very odd. On the TM500 ones they are large full size machines but the printer is under the screen in front of the driver. So the driver has to take the ticket and hand it to the passenger. On all other ticket machines it comes out the side and the passenger simply takes the ticket themselves. But it looks like the new TM700 has a more common side printer.

That is interesting about Liberty Bus in Jersey replacing Ticketer machines with Transmach TM700 machines. That must be the first time an operator has got rid of Ticketer and replaced it with something else.
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Because they were effectively off the shelf PAX E500 ePOS machines with software changes and any hardware needed for reading cards. That's why they looked odd with the ticket printer location.

Even the handheld Ticketers are the same, that particular PAX A920 device is in use by a few ticket machine providers, it's just the software that's different.

The newer Transmach machine seems to be more bespoke, at the end of the day as Ticketer grew it became a different beast entirely, plus the machines themselves are expensive now.
 
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Spsf3232

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Ember have developed there own ticketing system called EmberOS and it runs everything from ticketing, booking and schedules and more
 
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CN12 AWU

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I believe somewhere in Stagecoach UK Bus they are trialling 2 machines one being a flowbird Infirgo4 product that looks like a wayfarer to me

And the other the trialing not sure of name looks like a copy of a Ticketer
 
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Trainman40083

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Notts and Derby certainly have some ticket machines that are not Ticketer. Possibly Transmach.
 
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Observer

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Edvid said:
Was it the model pictured below? [Attached is a picture of the TransMach TM700]

View attachment 188168
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That looks a lot better for people to deal with although I assume Transmach are still offering the current ePOS based machine as this one will be quite limited and probably more expensive as well.

It does effectively resemble a Ticketer clone but again very user friendly for both drivers and passengers, looks like it also has a detachable tablet as seen on the new Ticketer model I believe.

An annoyance I often see though is you get some companies who just stick with the card reader based machines. In some applications they work well but I wouldn't use them on busy services and such.
 
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duncombec

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Adding to Stephensons already mentioned, Mulleys Motorways, in Bury St Edmunds, also use Transmach.

Autocar in Kent have also recently started using Transmach machines.
 
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stadler

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duncombec said:
Adding to Stephensons already mentioned, Mulleys Motorways, in Bury St Edmunds, also use Transmach.

Autocar in Kent have also recently started using Transmach machines.
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Very surprising to hear that Autocar have switched over to Transmach now. They only just switched from Wayfarer TGX200 to Wayfarer 6 at the end of last year. Why would you switch to brand new ticket machines and then switch again after just one year. Seems like such a waste of money. The new Wayfarer 6 machines took contactless and are very expensive machines so it seems crazy to switch again after only about twelve months.

Also that leaves just three UK operators (Lothian and TFL and Translink) and two ROI operators (Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus) still using Wayfarer machines. What was once the largest and most widespread bus ticket machine is now they least used. I remember when about 90% of bus operators had Wayfarer machines.

Do any of the bus operators in Australia and New Zealand and South Africa still have British ticket machines? Last time i went most of the bus operators had the same ticket machines that British operators used. Quite a few had the same models of Wayfarer and VIX ERG and Almex and INIT that we have. I wonder if those have all been replaced now too?

EYFanatic said:
I don't know if it counts given they do mainly schools work, but quite a few Ellie Rose buses still use Wayfarer 3 machines
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What do they currently operate? I can not find any listing for them on bustimes. So surely that means that they only operate closed door school routes that are not open to the public. But surely if they only operate closed door school routes then ticket sales onboard are not possible so what would their Wayfarer 3 machines be used for?
 
markymark2000

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Simon75 said:
Aimiee's of Leek use a what looks like an IPad
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Aimees use Transmach machines.

stadler said:
Very surprising to hear that Autocar have switched over to Transmach now. They only just switched from Wayfarer TGX200 to Wayfarer 6 at the end of last year. Why would you switch to brand new ticket machines and then switch again after just one year. Seems like such a waste of money. The new Wayfarer 6 machines took contactless and are very expensive machines so it seems crazy to switch again after only about twelve months.
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I don't know about the specs of the Wayfarer 6 but it's interesting to note that under the Wayfarer 6, they rarely sent AVL data to the Bus Open Data service. With the new Transmach machines though, they do send data.

I had heard that Brookline, Autocar and Farline all have the same owners and so perhaps this is something brought about by them too to have the same system across all of the operating companies.
 
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stadler

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Mkinson31422 said:
Can bus operators still use the wayfarer tgx200 for public operation in 2025?
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Can they or do they? What are you asking? They certainly can if they want to. There is nothing preventing them from continuing to use them. But as far as i am aware none do. Autocar was the last Wayfarer TGX 200 operator. They switched from Wayfarer TGX 200 to Wayfarer 6 early last year only to switch again to Transmach a month ago.
 
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