Swift Card on NXWM buses

[Stu]

National Express Coventry have posted (on Facebook) the following:

Smartcard volunteers wanted
We will shortly be launching our new smartcards, which will work like Oyster in London. Over the coming months more and more products will become available on smartcards.
We're looking for a small group of existing customers to trial the new cards in real world usage for a few months, and let us know how they get on.
The trial would simply involve using a smartcard rather than your existing paper pass – with your normal ticket as a backup just in case. Everything else would remain as now.
If you are an existing NX Coventry direct debit ticket holder and would be willing to participate in this trial, please let us know by private message or emailing buspass@nationalexpress.com with your photocard number.

I'd be interested if NX West Midlands did the same also!

[JoNi]

Smartcards are effectively banks containing users money.
Bus fares in TfLs controlled network are flat fares so Oyster deducts each journey until reach a daily level where it is capped. 
Underground/Overground fares can be variable because you touch in and touch out.

The bus equivalant of this Trent's Mango where you touch in and touch out when you get off the bus calulating the fare by your GPS position. Again it has a day ticket which the Mango caps to depending on time of use. They openly advertise it as being able to used by friends as well as the holder. You can even make a journey which results you going into debt.

Go Aheads Key card in Brighton is having a partition added to it's system so that passengers using tendered local services taken over by Compass will also have the benefit of a Key Card despite them not being part of the Go Ahead group.

Smartcards can be made to be as flexible (user friendly) and cheap as those administering the system want.

It will be up to customers to ensure Swift is as flexible as possible to meet the needs of occasional as well as regular users to make virtuallly every journey to be made using Swift. Easy to use ticketing is a vital aspect of encouraging people to use transport.

West Midlands bus fares vary between companies keen to attract customers.
My instincts tell me we will have to lobby hard using examples such as those above for a truly flexible smartcard that meets our individual needs.







   
   

[Kevin]

I'd be interested if NX West Midlands did the same also!

I'd be willing to bet NXC is the trial for NXWM, with it being a smaller, effectively self contained operation (apart from the 900, that will be an interesting anomaly)

[vinh1000]

Updated page on NWM

Swift Coventry nBus now avaliable
and the page says ALL operators including NXC and soon to be NXWM (when regional version comes out) now accept Swift

[:D]

Updated page on NWM

Swift Coventry nBus now avaliable
and the page says ALL operators including NXC and soon to be NXWM (when regional version comes out) now accept Swift

If I'm reading it correctly, Coventry's nBus ticket is cheaper than NXWM Coventry area travel card. This could be good news as this means more competition and it could mean operators will price their tickets below nbus ticket.

[JPC]

Updated page on NWM

Swift Coventry nBus now avaliable
and the page says ALL operators including NXC and soon to be NXWM (when regional version comes out) now accept Swift

If I'm reading it correctly, Coventry's nBus ticket is cheaper than NXWM Coventry area travel card. This could be good news as this means more competition and it could mean operators will price their tickets below nbus ticket.

No, the new product is relevantly priced...

Swift nBus Coventry = £43.50 per month
Equivalent NXC ticket = £40.25 per month

Yeah it should constrain future price increases on the NXC ticket.
The web page also says a photo card is required with Swift nBus Coventry, rightly so.

[:D]

Updated page on NWM

Swift Coventry nBus now avaliable
and the page says ALL operators including NXC and soon to be NXWM (when regional version comes out) now accept Swift

If I'm reading it correctly, Coventry's nBus ticket is cheaper than NXWM Coventry area travel card. This could be good news as this means more competition and it could mean operators will price their tickets below nbus ticket.

No, the new product is relevantly priced...

Swift nBus Coventry = £43.50 per month
Equivalent NXC ticket = £40.25 per month

Yeah it should constrain future price increases on the NXC ticket.
The web page also says a photo card is required with Swift nBus Coventry, rightly so.

Oops, I was looking at the one that doesn't require monthly direct debit.

[vinh1000]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

[Liverpool Street]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

Is that already paid? Like basically a monthly NBus ticket? Is the money getting withdrawn per scan? I don't know how it works - modern stuff scares me  :'( #oldbugger (I've just learned about twitter. Don't like it.)

[Tony]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

Yes, I have one for testing purposes, worked properly on every bus I have tested it on.

[Tony]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

Is that already paid? Like basically a monthly NBus ticket? Is the money getting withdrawn per scan? I don't know how it works - modern stuff scares me  :'( #oldbugger (I've just learned about twitter. Don't like it.)

Basically it is just a monthly prepaid travelcard, the same as if you bought it in a shop, but cheaper.

[vinh1000]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

Yes, I have one for testing purposes, worked properly on every bus I have tested it on.

So if a inspector came on I assume all of them know a Swift is valid? or have they got readers to tell you what product is on the card??

[the trainbasher]

Will annuals be moving over to swift eventually?

[Tony]

Got my regional nBus Swift today

Works good on NXWM buses :-)

Yes, I have one for testing purposes, worked properly on every bus I have tested it on.

So if a inspector came on I assume all of them know a Swift is valid? or have they got readers to tell you what product is on the card??

You will also have sent a paper receipt which it tells you must be carried at all times in case of failure. All inspectors are getting swift car readers, but at the moment will ask to see the paper receipt. This is only for the first few months until the system is proven

[Liverpool Street]

So is it to eliminate travel cards? In the end?