Tap-&-cap is set to become the new norm for fare collection and charging, but as DAVID JENKINS reports, there is as yet no pan-industry standard and some tickets are better promoted than others
If your local bus service does not accept payment by contactless card, then you are in a small minority these days.
Major suppliers Vix, Flowbird (the latest name for what used to be Wayfarer) and the ubiquitous Ticketer — plus Init in the Midlands — all offer ticket machines that can take payment by card, even if not all operators have yet chosen to take it up.
All except Vix now have systems operating where just touching in with a card — or a phone or watch — is enough to allow you to travel. It means that politicians’ envious desire for a London-style pay-as-you-go (PAYG) approach is becoming possible in more places, even where commercial bus operators have to charge something more complex than London’s universal flat fare.
