(09 Sep 2017, 2:42 pm)citaro5284 wrote I would have thought any bus/rail company that use smart cards would be able to see journey patterns just as much.
Just look at the supermarkets - Sainsburys knows exactly what I buy.
That's the difference, previously cash payers were essentially anonymous once they bought their day/week/month ticket.
They could board a bus, wave the ticket at the driver, use any service, have all sorts of patterns and the operator had no idea where or when it was used.
A cash payer now, could have their travel patterns analysed in a lot more detail.