(18 Jan 2014, 5:52 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Exact fare systems work very well in urban areas where people are used to them, eg. West Midlands, Ipswich, and in London if you didn't have an Oyster card it was coins in the roadside machine. It certainly speeds up services and encourages people to get seasons or prepayment cards. It also stops the inconsiderate morons giving drivers £10 or even £20 notes for tiny fares thinking they are a bank and have hundreds of pounds of change at 8am. My rule of thumb was always that notes were acceptable for fares more than half the value of the note. I always asked those who proffered tenners if that was the smallest they had and 2 times out of 3 they found near enough the right money.

I totally agree with you. Take the 308 for example, very popular high capacity route serving many key places that is quick but when burdened by delays, it can be a nightmare. When people don't board with the correct fare or worse don't have the fare ready, then by the time they've paid their fare, a big queue forms meaning that the bus gets full very quickly as it's supposed to otherwise it wouldn't make any money but, you then have St Mary's Place to contend with after Haymarket and it gets worse. Passengers need to be there for when the bus is due at peak times Monday to Saturday with the exact fare ready to board and sit down ASAP unless the fare or ticket is £5 or more. It would also be helpful for Arriva to publish their fares so passengers know what they're going to pay when they go for the bus.