On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:55:13 -0700 (PDT), Mizter T
wrote:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/7327.aspx says:

"If you live outside London and have been issued with a National
Concessionary bus pass on a smartcard, unfortunately the encoding
system they use is not compatible with Oyster. When being used for
free travel on buses in London, they will need to be visually
inspected by the driver."

Not all of London's bus drivers appear to have been properly trained
in how this works - my mother has been asked to "touch in" on a bus,
luckily the driver wasn't that bothered when she didn't, especially as
there was a PAYG Oyster lurking behind it in the plastic wallet.

Also, I wonder how many "beyond the pale" passes are correctly logged
(and paid for). At least once I've seen the same message on the
ticket machine - when such a feat is even possible - as appears for a
paper travelcard ("TfL pass" or similar). I've heard that the correct
button to press is "Other passes", one that previously didn't do
anything. I wonder if the drivers have been told?

That page could also usefully note that no ticket is issued, unlike in
other parts of the country.

Richard.