Cash is now no longer accepted on London buses which will see a £24 million profit maximisation.

The change comes due to less and less passengers paying with cash on London buses.

Transport for London research showed that 99% of their customers were using cashless payment methods such as Oyster cards, prepaid tickets, contact-less payment cards and concessionary tickets.

This means that any passengers travelling on London’s buses will need to use one of these payment options otherwise they will not be able to travel. However last month the ‘one more journey’ feature for Oyster users was introduced which allows passengers to make one more journey if they have insufficient funds on their Oyster card.

Mike Weston, Director of Buses at Transport for London said: “The way our customers pay for goods and services is evolving, so we need to ensure our ticketing process evolves too”.

He then went on to say “Removing cash from our bus network not only offers customers a more efficient bus service but it enables us to make savings of £24 million a year which will be re-invested to further improve London’s transport network”.

Although there are question marks surrounding the new change. Green Party London Assembly member Darren Johnson highlights what would happen to passengers who have lost or had their Oyster cards stolen and if they would be allowed to travel or not. This comes after more than 2,100 Oyster cards were lost, stolen or had stopped working on the average day last year.

Darren Johnson said: “I am very concerned that Transport for London are only planning 19 new Oyster ticket stops in preparation for the cashless switch-over. This seems highly inadequate, especially when every ticket office across the tube network is going to be closed. I have serious concerns about the impact of which this sweeping change would have on vulnerable passengers”.

Due to this drivers have been issued refreshed guidance on how to deal with vulnerable passengers.

We at Bus and Coach insurance offer very competitive bus and coach insurance prices so for a quick quote call our specialist team today on 0800 980 3425

Our bus and coach insurance team would like to share with you some of the funniest statements that have been made on insurance claims forms.

They certainly made us smile 🙂 and we hope that you appreciate them too.

Funny insurance claims statements

•  “I was driving along the motorway when the police pulled me over onto the hard shoulder.  Unfortunately, I was in the middle lane and there was another vehicle in the way…”

• Insurance provider: “Could either party have done anything differently to avoid the accident?” Claimant: “Yes, they could have travelled by bus.”
  

• “Going to work at 7am this morning I drove straight into a bus. The bus was 5 minutes early…”
  

• “The pedestrian ran for the pavement, but I got him!”

• “I started to slow down but the traffic was more stationary than I thought.”
  

• “I was backing my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before.”
  

Luckily for our insurance claims team, these statements were found online and our bus and coach drivers tend to be a bit more sensible.

However, please be assured that all of our bus and coach insurance claims are dealt with seriously and professionally.  No matter what the circumstances of your claim are, we will liaise with the third party insurer on your behalf and fight for the most favourable outcome for you.

For high quality cover at an affordable price, call our bus and coach insurance specialists on 0800 980 3425.