to think this new arrangement re bus fares is unfair?

[EmotionallyWeird]

I live in an area where most of the buses are operated by Stagecoach. For the last few years (since I started my current job which is too far to walk) I've bought a monthly travel card. At first it was a physical piece of cardboard and you had to get a new one every month, then it became a smart card (which looks like a debit card) which you had to top up online.

Today I found out that the system is changing again and when my current top-up expires, it will only be possible to buy an in-app version of the weekly or monthly cards, which you have to show on your phone. This doesn't really affect me as I can cope with the change, although I would rather it had stayed the same. But not everybody wants to carry a phone all the time, not everybody has a smartphone, and not everybody who has one has their own data - some just use WiFi when they can get on it (which you can't on the buses in this area). Does anyone else think that making this new system compulsory is rather unfair, as it will force some people to make a lifestyle change they might not otherwise have wanted to (or pay more for their travel by buying single or day tickets)?

it is digital exclusion. Write to your council and MP.

Phone signal was supposed to get better with 5g and 4g but it's now worse, I went on holiday to the Norfolk coast recently and the phone signal was so bad in most places that my phone was running out of battery because it was constantly trying to find signal, I had to switch off private relay as I think that was making it worse with iCloud notifications every time it was not active, ie, no signal. It was truly terrible.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. As I said before, I personally will cope, but I am concerned about people who will have to change their habits considerably to accommodate this. As the driver yesterday explained it, there will be no alternative for the weekly and monthly options.

I realised last night that I did need a top-up for today - I usually get a reminder email a few days before but didn't this time, presumably because you now need to do it all in-app. I did have the app before but only used it for checking whether buses were on their way - which incidentally seems to be particularly big user of data. I bought the new monthly ticket and that at least went smoothly.

This morning I was pleased to discover that although you need data to activate the ticket for the first time, you don't need data to Open and show it once it's activated. That set my mind at rest a lot. Now all I need to do is make sure I never forget my phone (which I used to do fairly often).

(not in UK) my travel pass can't be screenshotted, and it has a safety feature of something moving forwards and backwards at the top of the QR code.

If you are out of data, or you can't get the app to work (where i travel there is zero hope of getting a signal for a good 10 minutes of the journey - depending on direction it is at the beginning or end of your journey, and exactly where they check)

If you can't show your card or the app, you get a fine of EUR 60. You then have to take your proof that you have a ticket to the ticket office (limited opening times) and pay a EUR 7,50 admin fee.

So. Again: digital exclusion. And it should be challenged everywhere.

I think it's terrible to force people to have a smartphone and use digital payment.
My dad wouldn't have a clue what to do with a smartphone.

When Hmrc made applications online only she took a free computer course at our local college so she could continue to work . And she was around 60 at the time.

well, when would most of us do that? having to work until 67 as we do... there should ALWAYS be a safety valve for the, hopefully very few, people who can't or won't use tech.

I mean this is the problem isn't it. We've all been trying to tell these agenda setters who are influencing headteachers (and the public) that banning smartphones is a terrible idea because logistically children need them these days, and they're shouting us down with "BUT CHILD PROTECTIONNNN" what's protective about leaving kids stranded outside school/near home because they can't get on the bus and can't even call mum or dad for help? Loads of kids live more than three miles from school/college and need transport to/from it. It's like they don't care about the kids at all and just want to push an agenda to look like they're doing something about a problem they can't actually solve. 🤔

It’s worse because the conservative government banned Huawei from our network without any alternative to replace them.

There can’t ALWAYS be a safety valve for those who can’t or won’t use tech. There was no safety valve for those who wanted to stick with analogue TV, for example,

Not really the same, though.

It really is. New tech came along and replaced the old tech. If you wanted to keep using the old tech, tough luck. Many people had to buy new equipment and learn how to use it, whether they liked it or not.

You don't need data for this to work.

That’s not possible where I live. The tickets on the app are a weird image that changes every 10 seconds or something.

that is a completely different thing though - and IIRC the reason the switch was done over several years was to give people time to buy new TVs

The switch from being able to, say, go to the GP and make an appointment (eg when you were at your last check up, or passing on the way to the post office) to "no you have to use the app" to an old lady with no idea how to download an app, enter the details accurately is appalling.

TV is one thing, travel to work/school/appointments is another. Not only is digital exclusion A Thing, the chances of a DDOS or something where the systems simply don't work is fairly high. A backdoor for some, can mean an lifeline for all in cases like that.

Or do you think "oh minorities, pah" and handwave them and their difficulties (that need not be difficulties in many cases) away?

I suppose linear TV will be the next thing to disappear, the amount of plugging of iPlayer and ITVx,

at this stage the "you don't need data / make a screenshot" is the "cancel the cheque" given that so many people have explained that this is not true for all tickets

Yes it's unfair. In my experience busses are relied on by people with very low incomes and elderly people and those are the people who are less likely to have data or even have a smart phone.

I work in child protection, get your child a brick phone if it's necessary for a journey

a brick phone doesn't have apps though?

But a brick phone won’t have the app for the tickets..?

87% of adults have a smart phone. From my own circumstances, my dad doesn't have one & some of his friends don't either. Some don't have any type of mobile phone at all.

I haven't come across a transport provider yet that doesn't do physical passes for children including tfl

Yes, these are available in my area for children. They are 15% more expensive when bought physically than when bought on the app.

Obviously you’d save money if you were choosing to only buy your child a brick phone rather than a smart phone, which would more than cancel out the more expensive ticket. But if you couldn’t afford the smart phone in the first place, you are further penalised with more expensive tickets.

A lot have smart phones like my NDNs that is quite old and he can't use a lot of apps on it, the OS is too old so doesn't support them and probably not a lot of space on phone, he was telling me this a few months ago but he only used the phone for texts and calls

My sister doesn't have a smart 'phone, she only has a mobile for emergencies. She also uses public transport, this system would restrict her ability to go out and about a lot. I am sure there must be thousands and thousands like her.