(05 Jul 2014, 9:42 am)Dan wrote It's interesting that only buses from Riverside and Percy Main have had these external readers removed...
I had a Day Rover on Thursday, so it's the first time I've really been north of Newcastle. I really can't see the reasoning for removing the external readers, unless the hardware hasn't lasted as long as they'd expected (or is out of warranty). On every other bus I was on it was delaying boarding times. The younguns with key cards were alright with it, but the OAPs were generally puzzled at the lack of a reader. It was then the few failed attempts before a successful read of the pass. In fact one (late) Cobalt Clipper I was on, the driver was just asking the OAPs to hand their pass over and scanning it for them.
I'd really love to see some data on boarding times with and without the readers. Although perhaps that's the reason only two depots have removed them at present?