(26 Apr 2018, 3:38 am)James101 wrote My experiences of contactless payments have been positive, I actively choose to pay by card on the bus where I can. As I generally buy day tickets between £5-10 and my bus stop is closer than the nearest cash machine this makes the most sense. 

The amount of people that don’t have a smartphone or contactless card, and also do not qualify for a concessionary pass (also contactless) must now be tiny - considering the default for both new cards and phones (above £50) is to have this technology. 

I don’t think the fraud argument is a starter really. This ‘Which?’ article on the subject says contactless fraud accounts for just 1.9% of all credit card fraud - the monetary value of fraud is just increasing at the sameness rate as the overall spend. As the article states, 0.02% of card spending is lost to fraud. By comparison, on a £20k salary that would be £4 per year. I’m certain if I was given £20k in cash I’d loose more than £4 in dropped change, mistaken overspending, lost wallets and the threat of robbery. 


The benefits of cashless are there to be had for both the passenger and the company. London’s not perfect, but their bus system works better for cashless fares


https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/02/bri...ard-fraud/

I'm not sure the number of people without smartphones is "tiny". I think recent figures suggested 22% of the population didn't have them - and I don't have contactless. I confess, I don't know what you mean about a £50 "default", and also don't forget a concessionary pass does not mean free travel at all times. What about octagenarians who don't understand mobiles, never mind smartphones, but still have to pay to get to a peak hour medical appointment? And that's before we get on to the reliability (or lack of) phone reception, as raised by others.