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Automatic Fare Collection on London Buses

A motley group of London Transport office staff line up to test the efficiency of two bus driver-operated ticket machines.

Industry sponsored film 1971 2 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for London's Screen Archives

Overview

After trials on out of town and single deck bus services, London Transport experimented β€˜pay as you enter’ double deck buses with simplified or flat fares in central London from 1971 onwards. This film shows two experimental systems in a stationary test - one where the driver takes the fare and issues a ticket to a succession of LT staff, and another where they put coins into a self-service machine.

In the real world, where passengers did not all have the right change or know where they were going, progress onto buses was much slower, causing delays and a barrage of complaints.

This film is from the collection of London Transport Museum, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.