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[email protected] · December 27th 11, 04:38 PM posted to nyc.transit,uk.transport.london

On 27/12/2011 14:57, wrote:
On Dec 26, 10:51 pm, danny wrote:
writes:
Until roughly 1970, bus drivers in major cities gave change so
passengers didn't need to have the exact fare in cash. But holdups
pushed transit carriers to go exact fare.

methinks you mean "simplification and a speedup in boarding
pushed transit carriers to go exact fare"

No, I meant to prevent holdups. They were a serious problem in the
late 1960s as urban conditions decayed.

Back in those days fares could be odd coin combinations, 15c in small
towns, I think 20c in NYC at the time; plus there were transfer and
zone fares in many places. While most passengers used exact change to
save themselves time, plenty of people expected change, especially if
a family was travelling.

I don't know about NYC, but in Phila, initially the driver could punch
a refund slip if a passenger overpaid. The slip could be cashed in at
the local bus garages. Obviously punching up a slip took time and
passengers arguing with the driver over change took time.

Could they not have also used it as partial fare payment?