Rupert Candy wrote:


Surely it's a tentative (and arguably over-optimistic) step towards
what the Netherlands has - a national smart card which is valid for
local transport anywhere in the country,

Is it not more a case of "what the Netherlands might have one day, if
they can get it to work, if Connexxion brings its ball back, if they
(=the colonial imperialist aggressors) can install ticket gates or
similar everywhere they will be needed, and if students don't make their
own knock-offs"?



or (at least) in the South
East, but which won't make any real sense until lots of operators and
areas are supporting it. Even without 'PAYG' train ticketing, you
could still have some form of capping, whereby the (electronically
deducted) bus journeys at either end of a Cambridge city centre -
Southampton town centre journey were effectively 'refunded' when the
train ticket was added to the smartcard.


--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK