Discussion: is Swift PAYG obsolete, or could it be improved?

[Sandy Lane]

Used a PAYG swift today on the bus and apprently you no longer get a discount from 2nd January. Anybody knowwhats going on? If there is no discount then what is the purpose of the swift?

[Tony]

Used a PAYG swift today on the bus and apprently you no longer get a discount from 2nd January. Anybody knowwhats going on? If there is no discount then what is the purpose of the swift?

I've never seen the point of Swift PAYG once contactless became popular

[Stu]

I've never seen the point of Swift PAYG once contactless became popular

There are still a number of smaller operators that don't yet accept contactless payments though.

And not everyone has a contactless card yet.

But I agree, once all operators accept contactless payments, then Swift PAYG will be pretty much redundant.

Used a PAYG swift today on the bus and apprently you no longer get a discount from 2nd January. Anybody knowwhats going on? If there is no discount then what is the purpose of the swift?

All discounts for contactless and Swift PAYG fares have been removed, so all 'cash fares' are the same price regardless of how you pay.

[Tony]

There are still a number of smaller operators that don't yet accept contactless payments though.

And not everyone has a contactless card yet.

But I agree, once all operators accept contactless payments, then Swift PAYG will be pretty much redundant.

If you don't want a contactless debit/credit card you can go to the post office and purchase a card with money pre loaded on to it, and it works in shops as well as buses so much more useful than swift PAYG

[metrocity]

Used a PAYG swift today on the bus and apprently you no longer get a discount from 2nd January. Anybody knowwhats going on? If there is no discount then what is the purpose of the swift?

My understanding is that once multi operator fare capping is introduced in the West Midlands, this will only be able to be introduced on Swift (not contactless bank cards)

[richardjones210368]

I've never seen the point of Swift PAYG once contactless became popular

Just showing your post @Tony  to someone who is very proud of his Swift scheme and the 50 million users in 2019 they cannot all have made the wrong decision.could they as ever only NXWM could diss the largest transport payment system outside London and the rollout I have just been told continues next with Kevs.

[Tony]

Just showing your post @Tony  to someone who is very proud of his Swift scheme and the 50 million users in 2019 they cannot all have made the wrong decision.could they as ever only NXWM could diss the largest transport payment system outside London and the rollout I have just been told continues next with Kevs.

There's nowhere near 50million PAYG users

[richardjones210368]

There's nowhere near 50million PAYG users

The gentleman I am with seems to be under the impression.Swift  was used 50 million times last year.

[Tony]

The gentleman I am with seems to be under the impression.Swift  was used 50 million times last year.

Perhaps you might ask him how many PAYG

[richardjones210368]

Perhaps you might ask him how many PAYG

You have stumped him there!  A lackey is looking into it !!!!

[Steveminor]

As @metrocity pointed out fare capping is due to be released soon on swift so is definitely worth keeping your pay as you go cards for that plus some other exciting things are planned for swift.

[richardjones210368]

As @metrocity pointed out fare capping is due to be released soon on swift so is definitely worth keeping your pay as you go cards for that plus some other exciting things are planned for swift.

One of the biggest gripes & have been discussing this, this morning is SwiftPAYG not being able to load N bus products as there is no photo while the e daysaver swift cannot load payg or n bus so a customer could end up holding 3 different swift cards and then we have Swiftcards issued by NXWM that cant be topped or have products added by TfWM something which regrectable and someone I spoke to this morning who is very into Swift wasnt aware there are so many different versions which are not conpatible with each other.

[Stuharris 6360]

At the end of the day I don't want a contactless bank card as I think they can cause trouble for you in the long run, and there are probably more people than just me who think it.

The time and expense that it has cost and design the Swift system means that ditching it after such a short time would be so wasteful.

[Tony]

At the end of the day I don't want a contactless bank card as I think they can cause trouble for you in the long run, and there are probably more people than just me who think it.

The time and expense that it has cost and design the Swift system means that ditching it after such a short time would be so wasteful.

I'm all for the swift scheme for passes, but I have never had a single person use PAYG when I have been driving and even in London use of Oyster for PAYG is dropping like a stone now

[Stu]

One of the biggest gripes & have been discussing this, this morning is SwiftPAYG not being able to load N bus products as there is no photo while the e daysaver swift cannot load payg or n bus so a customer could end up holding 3 different swift cards and then we have Swiftcards issued by NXWM that cant be topped or have products added by TfWM something which regrectable and someone I spoke to this morning who is very into Swift wasnt aware there are so many different versions which are not conpatible with each other.

That is a point I have brought up before. I myself have a Swift card loaded with my NX Regional Faresaver pass, but I think it would be useful to be able to load credit for the occasional PAYG journey on other operators buses, because I'd rather not have to carry two seperate Swift cards around, and make sure I don't use the wrong one!

But having said that, as Diamond are probably the only other operator I really use (for the odd journey on the 50), I just use my contactless bank card to pay for those journeys, so is probably a moot point now.