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’s funny when I hear people complaining about companies using these methods it’s always “I can do it but what about….?” Actual complaints from people who can’t manage it are rare.

Unfortunately I'm not sure who made this comment, but it should win the internet today for the most ignorant comment. To that poster, you don't think there could be a correlation between people who are disadvantaged by these things and people who don't or can't complain?

Would they accept it? I doubt it because then several people could share the photo.

Realistically…how many people do you know that have a monthly pass and don’t use a phone in the way you’ve described? I’d be wiling to bet it’s a tiny, tiny minority.

Sorry, I should have waited until I was 60 to have my stroke? Funnily enough I wasn't given the choice! If I can ever return to working, I really can't manage the ohone and the bus at the same time. As explained on a previous post.

there are many reasons why some people won't be able to do this, they are not your mum.

So? Tough fucking luck to them then? Charming!

& I expect it's more than you assume in your ableist thinking.

Loyalty cards work differently (they don't care who gets the points)

travel & other is different because they'd lose money with people sharing a photo/screen shot of a pass .

Unfashionable was what my phone changed unfathomable to, sorry.(it just did it again, but I caught it this time!!) that's what happens when you have to use voice to message because you don't have any feeling in your fingers.

I explained in my previous post why I can no longer just run around with my keys & phone. (Clue might be in my user name)

Becoming disabled can AND DOES happen overnight (literally in my case), it's not nice & not clever to be such an ableist person.

My response was around age/lack of interest in technology. I never mentioned disability, of course there should be adaptations for disabled people.

Our buses have chargers and complimentary WiFi which helps, I’ve boarded and had to plug in my phone to get sufficient charge to show my ticket! My bus is 50 minutes and the drivers are used to idiots like me with older phones doing this. We’ve had in app passes since 2019 at least when I moved here, no idea if paper still exist

Can I point out too that if you have a disability that means you cannot drive you can apply for a disability bus pass, my dd gets one, this is like the older person one but for under pension age. If you have a disability that’s severe enough that you cannot operate a smartphone, you won’t be eligible to drive so can apply for the disabled bus pass.

I would suspect that a large proportion of people you are talking about with no smart phone now have a bus pass so they will be covered without needing the APP.

for those with no data there is enough WiFi around to cope they may just need to plan a little ahead of time.

Your blanket statement of 'anyone under 60 should be able to use technology' doesn't allow for physical difficulties in certain circumstances. If I regain some feeling in my hand (which I hope to, but no idea if I will or not) I won't qualify for a disabled pass, then I would have to use the ordinary monthly pass- which unless I make an incredible recovery I am highly unlikely to be able to manage a pass on my phone whilst standing on a bus and putting the phone away somewhere safe so I can hold on (as my leg is unlikely to get much better & not at the same time as my arm/hand)

I know I'm just one person, but many people have physical issues but don't qualify for disability passes

For the umpteenth time, the smart cards are not being withdrawn, so there is nothing to worry about.

And can I point out again, that if they're doing this with monthly passes unless they are made aware of the problems it may well roll over onto ALL passes & as I have just outlined, I may get to a stage where I no longer qualify for a disabled pass but still have physical limitations which mean I can't faff around with a phone, whilst standing in a bus.

whether I can drive or not is irrelevant to a monthly bus pass I may need for a commute to work, you should understand that,

and as I have also pointed out, many people CAN 'operate a smart phone' just not while standing/moving to a seat on a bus!

what do you suggest re planning? Having the bus stop moved to somewhere that you can get a signal??

Cheap smartphone turned off at the bottom of a bag. No one else would know it was there. Turn it on for the bus. Not really that difficult.

Top up your card before you leave for the day most cases you know you are getting on a bus before you leave where you are staying.

if you notice while you are out or plans change top it up in a place you already are that has WiFi. If you have chosen not to have data on your phone you will know where to get WiFi.

What your Dad can do has no bearing on my life. How could it? It doesn't make me anymore stable on my feet or my hands work any better?

I can use my phone just fine if I'm sitting down. But not standing on a bus.

maybe if you read other people's posts, you'd understand other people's pic & challenges.

They still need to show their pass.

I wouldn't think so because it's a pass, not a ticket, they work very differently.

your mother is likely pension age and would get free travel, not sure stagecoach have implemented this for senior citizen cards.

As you say she could update her phone.

So you keep saying. But from what authority??

AND

Stop being patronising! I'm not worrying, I'm jooning in a conversation about why it wouldn't work for everyone.

What does any of that have to do with a pass?

Not sure why it’s ageist…

Senior rail cards are not changing.

Im also mid a lot of chemo, phone is therefore the only thing I have to remember. This mini computer means that I have

Credit debit cards in one place
Tickets for events in one place
Flight tickets in one place
Loyalty cards in one place

Banking
Emails
NHS App - know your patient - my appointments and test results on my phone (although not my chemo appointments as these are still updated on a paper sheet once a week), but all oncology, radio, CT scans etc.

And I invested in some varifocal glasses, so reading not an issue.

I love my mini computer and everything that’s added helps me, I only need to remember one thing to take out. Not tickets, appointment cards, credit/debit cards etc.

I’ve attached two screenshots from the Stagecoach website showing that smart cards are still available. See above in the thread.