Merseyside Night Buses

[Barney]

RE: Merseyside Night Buses

(25/08/2016 20:02)Dentonian Wrote:  Drifting slightly off-topic - but it was raised on this thread - compulsory pre payment will not be accepted by the travelling public outside London, unless the industry drastically improves punctuality - especially outside peak commuting hours. In every other industry, you either pay for goods on receipt, or you have a guarentee of delivery....and that delivery is not as time sensitive as transport. People won't pay for a journey(s) if they are not guarenteed that the bus will turn up....or indeed the first bus will turn up in time to be virtually sure a connection will be achieved.

Off topic now but that comment is nonsense. In many European cities pre-payment is the norm. London now requires pre-payment and it is one of the most congested cities on the planet. It is universally accepted that the collection of fares (by the driver) is the second biggest factor in late running of bus services. I predict that within the next ten years, cash payment will cease to exist on all bus operations in the UK.