Passengers air views on 'cashless' bus trial

Bus passengers have expressed mixed views on whether bus travel should be 'cashless' after a scheme to encourage contactless payments was launched in Kent.

Adult single fares on Stagecoach services 12 and 17 - which run between Canterbury and Deal, and Folkestone and Canterbury - will only be on sale by contactless payment or via the company's bus app.

A Stagecoach spokesperson said most customers already used cashless methods to help "make boarding times quicker and the journey experience hassle-free".

However, one customer said she preferred using cash and sometimes she had problems using the app on her phone.

Laura, a bus passenger using a service in Folkestone who did not give her surname, said: "Everything's tap, tap, tap nowadays.

"You can't keep track all the time in your bank, and it takes a few days to come out. It's that worry of having enough.

"Whereas if you've got cash, you know what you've got."

Vanessa Edwards, who has a bus pass, said she was neither for, nor against cashless payments.

"This day and age, it is all about technology," she said.

And Kayleigh, who also did not give her surname, said she always used her card.

"Obviously, everything's electronic these days so I don't even carry cash anymore," she said.

Stagecoach said "no-one who wishes to travel will be turned away if they can't make a contactless payment" during the four week trial, which does not affect tickets other than adult single fares.

"We are interested in finding out more about how people might be affected," the firm added.

The company's website said there were no set plans to introduce cashless payments across its services.

"It's very much a learning exercise to help us get a better understanding of the impact it may have," it added.

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