First Busses Tap On Tap Off

[WarPig]

My top tip when using Tap on/Tap off…..

 

When tapping on, first ensure you are on a First bus as I’ve just made myself to look like a fool…..
 

I catch the No 1 bus occasionally and assumed it was only operated by First. When tapping on this morning nothing happened and the bus driver just looked at me as if I didn’t have mental capacity, with the following awkward conversation..

 

Bus driver - ‘What are you doing?’ 
Me - ‘Tapping on’

Bus driver - ‘This is a Stagecoach bus and I have no idea what you’re doing’ 

 

[RollingJ]

7 minutes ago, WarPig said:

My top tip when using Tap on/Tap off…..

 

When tapping on, first ensure you are on a First bus as I’ve just made myself to look like a fool…..
 

I catch the No 1 bus occasionally and assumed it was only operated by First. When tapping on this morning nothing happened and the bus driver just looked at me as if I didn’t have mental capacity, with the following awkward conversation..

 

Bus driver - ‘What are you doing?’ 
Me - ‘Tapping on’

Bus driver - ‘This is a Stagecoach bus and I have no idea what you’re doing’ 

 

I  know First  currently have some funny coloured buses in Sheffield, but they don't look anything like Stagecoach's , so I have no idea how you can confuse them.😉

[WarPig]

40 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

I  know First  currently have some funny coloured buses in Sheffield, but they don't look anything like Stagecoach's , so I have no idea how you can confuse them.😉

I never look at the bus or its livery, it’s just a bus and I get on it. Though I’ll have to start paying more attention now. However I never realised that a service could be run by more than one operator. I guess I just don’t catch buses often enough to know. 

Edited May 2 by WarPig

[RollingJ]

Fair enough, @WarPig😉

[Resident]

On 30/04/2024 at 13:42, Grumpycatweasel said:

first & stage coach etc need to both use the same system 

 

this is what i pay Sheffield council executives £250,000 per year to sort out 

I agree with the system comment. Stagecoach are still using the outdated ERG machines. Even TM have started to use Ticketer like First. 

Problem comes with the fact that SYMCA are limited in their power over Stagecoach in this manner and would also have to have to use machines within the Ticketer eco-system (Ticketer Handheld on the trams, though I've not seen one up close they may already be using them).

Stagecoach's reluctance will purely be down to cost. Equipment, training, installation etc and this would have to be done throughout their entire UK operations. 

[Martin C]

I prefer the Stagecoach system if paying by card. Takes £1.50 / £2 immediately "in one hit" as opposed to Ticketeer's ridiculous initial 10p then the balance charged a day later. I have "round-up" on my current account so the 10p generates a 90p round-up. The subsequent balancing £1.40 / £1.90 doesn't generate a round-up as it's regarded as part of the same transaction.

 

Clearly I must be "on the spectrum" to find this annoying - but on shared routes I always aim for a Stagecoach bus for this reason alone!

[NERVY-OWL]

18 hours ago, Resident said:

I agree with the system comment. Stagecoach are still using the outdated ERG machines. Even TM have started to use Ticketer like First. 

Problem comes with the fact that SYMCA are limited in their power over Stagecoach in this manner and would also have to have to use machines within the Ticketer eco-system (Ticketer Handheld on the trams, though I've not seen one up close they may already be using them).

Stagecoach's reluctance will purely be down to cost. Equipment, training, installation etc and this would have to be done throughout their entire UK operations. 

I think Stagecoach are the only ones not using them, not sure about Hulleys though. It was always said when I worked there they used those particular machines because the owner shares or some sort of financial interest in the company that makes them, not sure how true it is but he's sold up since then so that reason shouldn't be an issue.

It would be useful to get the toto system on all operators though, there's plenty of places to get to wherever you need to use more than one operator.

[RollingJ]

@NERVY-OWL, AFAIK Hulleys do use Ticketer machines - from what I can see, it is only Stagecoach who don't - in the Sheffield area,  anyway, don't know about Rotherham/Doncaster etc.