mct16:
Abolishing paper tickets will save money
Debateable; as said before, it’s not like the plastic and chip cards are free, and then there’s the infrastructure of readers and computers, as well as software (not to mention back-office staff). You would be able to buy an awful lot of environmentally friendly paper for that cost.
mct16:
The idea is that the smart cards will make things less complicated, for the public at any rate.
How and why? It’s not the paper ticket that’s complicated itself, it’s the proliferation of ticket types, route limitations and the time at which you travel which is complicated, a result of the fragmented and ineffective system we have of rail franchises, rather than a comprehensive national company, as enjoyed by almost every other country in the world. If the pricing structure was simple, then the format of the ticket is virtually immaterial - added to which, if you get the ticket sent to a device you might already have, like a mobile ’phone, you don’t need a paper ticket or a card!
There is no link between the pricing structure and the nature of the ticket; TfL was able to operate a paper ticket discount scheme when it suited them, and to abandon it when it didn’t. Likewise, train companies will be able to fluctuate fares as they please if the changes (of which the cards are just a part) go ahead, and history shows us that prices tend to rise, and ticket prices even more so.
mct16:
the price of a single Oyster bus journey has increased from the original £0.90 to £1.35, thus matching what a paper ticket journey used to cost.
Further making my point, and eroding your proposition. Prices go up…
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