(13 Feb 2017, 9:52 pm)Andreos1 wrote A trial between the exact change offer like Lothian introduced and a mobile ticket would be interesting!
After the initial costs in sourcing the app and any additional charges, I wonder what the cost saving is for the operator between a mobile ticket and paper ticket? I imagine the costs of having a mobile ticket offer is pretty stable compared to those costs incurred with paper tickets.
Are we talking marginal amounts or are we talking amounts that is going to increase margins?
However, unless operators find a way around it, the paper tickets offer a revenue stream via advertising.
I think we'll be hard pressed to find any actual figures to compare, but I imagine the savings for a large company like stagecoach will be considerable. If the system was cash-less there would be insurance savings on the buses themselves and the buildings the cash is kept in. There would be no outlay to g4s or similar for collecting and banking the cash. There would also be big labour savings as the cash-out process when returning to depot for takes a few minutes per driver.