On 14/01/13 20:13, wrote:
On 14/01/2013 19:24, Roger Lynn wrote:
Unfortunately my job is moving to Swindon, where apparently many of the
buses are "exact change only". I thought that sort of thing had gone out 30
years ago. It makes me very reluctant to use the buses because I can't be
sure of having the correct fare, especially if I have no idea what the fare
would be and the only way to find out the fare seems is to get on a bus and
ask. This is extremely unfriendly to passengers.

You could, of course, find out what the local transport agency is in
Swindon and either access their website or give them a ring.

I've never seen bus fares on websites when I've looked in the past. They
usually make it difficult enough just to find which route you want and a
timetable for that route. Even when I have found the fare I still can't be
sure of having the correct change.

Roger

On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:51:54 +0000
Recliner wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:39:11 +0000, Paul Corfield
Of course it is. I thought, given your stated political leanings, that
you would fully support fares increasing and revenue being maximised
so subsidy is as low as possible. I don't see flat fares on the tube
being helpful in terms of subsidy reduction.

From memory, Boltar describes himself as right wing on social issues,
but left wing on economic ones. So he probably approves of public

Pretty much.

transport subsidy, as long as it's targeted only at people he approves
of (white adult British males) but not those he doesn't (eg,
immigrants, women, gays, etc, etc).

Now you're just being silly.

The fact is that since other critical infrastructure in the UK is subsidised
by the public purse I see no reason why the underground shouldn't be to a
greater extent either. I suspect the same people who champion rail travellers
paying through the nose to lessen subsidy are the same people who would baulk
at the sort of PAYG road pricing thats been mooted by the government even
though in principal its exactly the same thing. The road tax as it exists
at the moment is to all intents and purposes a flat fare.

B2003

In message , at 09:53:30 on Tue, 15 Jan
2013, d remarked:
The road tax as it exists at the moment is to all intents and purposes
a flat fare.

Most of the revenue to maintain the roads comes from fuel duty & VAT.

--
Roland Perry

wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:51:54 +0000
Recliner wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:39:11 +0000, Paul Corfield
Of course it is. I thought, given your stated political leanings, that
you would fully support fares increasing and revenue being maximised
so subsidy is as low as possible. I don't see flat fares on the tube
being helpful in terms of subsidy reduction.

From memory, Boltar describes himself as right wing on social issues,
but left wing on economic ones. So he probably approves of public

Pretty much.

transport subsidy, as long as it's targeted only at people he approves
of (white adult British males) but not those he doesn't (eg,
immigrants, women, gays, etc, etc).

Now you're just being silly.

The fact is that since other critical infrastructure in the UK is subsidised
by the public purse I see no reason why the underground shouldn't be to a
greater extent either. I suspect the same people who champion rail travellers
paying through the nose to lessen subsidy are the same people who would baulk
at the sort of PAYG road pricing thats been mooted by the government even
though in principal its exactly the same thing. The road tax as it exists
at the moment is to all intents and purposes a flat fare.

Actually, we agree on this point.

On Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:31:56 +0000
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 09:53:30 on Tue, 15 Jan
2013, d remarked:
The road tax as it exists at the moment is to all intents and purposes
a flat fare.

Most of the revenue to maintain the roads comes from fuel duty & VAT.

Well it all comes from the treasury pot so its rather academic how much is
raised by which tax since none of them are specifically reserved to be spent
on the roads. But you still have to tax an insure your car if its on a public
road even if you pushed it yourself.

B2003

I'm not particularly right wing but I do agree with fares rising in order
to reduce the subsidy from the tax payer and to release funds for
improvements to the infrastructure. It's about the only thing Boris Johnson
has got right in my opinion.

Roland Perry wrote:

Yet these increases in dwell time would probably not be as great as the
increase when driver only operation[1] replaced rear platform buses with
a conductor.

[1] Especially where you have to pay the driver and receive change.

Probably not as great but still a factor that needs to be considered -
especially at peak times where buses can be full or already have long
dwell times in Central / Inner London.

Out in the provinces the existence of "all day" tickets (typically around
£4) means people only have to pay once, and combine that with an "exact
change only" policy and it's quicker overall than having people fumbling
in their purses to find their bus pass.

Providing of course later buses are signed up to the all day tickets. Many a
traveller has tales of being caught in a suburb or satellite village and
finding the only buses that turn up at that time won't accept the already
purchased ticket. And this information isn't always easy to find online.

--
My blog: http://adf.ly/4hi4c

On Jan 14, 10:15*pm, "
wrote:
On 14/01/2013 20:21, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 20:08:44 on Mon, 14
Jan 2013, " remarked:
The last time I was in Amsterdam, about 7 years ago, the newer trams
had conductors who sat in a booth and would stamp your strippenkaart
as you boarded.

Are they no longer there?

The strippenkaarts are long gone.

I was referring to the conductors, actually. Are they also gone?

They were still there when I last visited Amsterdam, in May 2012.

Robin

On 15/01/2013 10:31, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 09:53:30 on Tue, 15 Jan
2013, d remarked:
The road tax as it exists at the moment is to all intents and purposes
a flat fare.

Most of the revenue to maintain the roads comes from fuel duty & VAT.

The revenue to maintain the roads comes from general taxation. All UK
taxes go into one pot and are distributed from there.
--
Phil Cook

In message , at 11:38:26 on Tue, 15
Jan 2013, Tim Roll-Pickering remarked:
Out in the provinces the existence of "all day" tickets (typically around
£4) means people only have to pay once, and combine that with an "exact
change only" policy and it's quicker overall than having people fumbling
in their purses to find their bus pass.

Providing of course later buses are signed up to the all day tickets. Many a
traveller has tales of being caught in a suburb or satellite village and
finding the only buses that turn up at that time won't accept the already
purchased ticket.

All-day tickets that are interavailable between operators are generally
harder to find and more expensive. I've never found that people *expect*
an all-day ticket to intervailable, so checking that the suburb you are
travelling back from has buses from the right company, at the time you
need them, is an inevitable (but trivially easy) part of the exercise.

And this information isn't always easy to find online.

For Nottingham, where I lived and there were several all-day tickets
available, such information is very easy to find online.
--
Roland Perry