Stagecoach Manchester

[Quackdave]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(28/02/2017 20:47)Dentonian Wrote:  I must admit, I don't think I've ever seen anyone pay on the bus with a credit/debit card, and I don't always carry my Debit Card around with me. From what I have seen, there are all sorts of delays with anything electronic being used or attempted to be used for payment.

I didn't know there was anywhere around here that it was possible to pay by card on the bus (well, until today!) But it seems to work well enough in London.

(28/02/2017 20:47)Dentonian Wrote:  I suppose you agree with First in freezing fares for m-tickets whilst increasing fares by 7% for everyone else - wage inflation is 1.5% (private sector) & 1.1% (public sector) - based on ridiculous claims of reducing loading times?

A 7% increase does seem excessive, but I don't disagree with differential pricing that incentivises off-bus purchasing. Whether m-tickets are the best answer, I can't judge, because I've no experience of them.

(28/02/2017 20:47)Dentonian Wrote:  Delays by Passengers paying cash is a tiny, tiny proportion compared to [...]

I don't disagree with you there. But handling cash has other costs, and security implications, that it's not unreasonable for companies to consider.

I wouldn't really want to see acceptance of cash phased out altogether - after all, I have found myself in a situation where I wanted to catch a bus with my wife and son in London, and we couldn't because we only had two debit cards between us. However, if paying by cash comes to be perceived as the "emergency" option, then I don't think that's a particularly bad thing.