The NoW Card
 

Do you have a NoW Card ?
Then take more notice of the ticket you get from the bus driver
I am not sure how it works thought
do the bus company get paid on each ticket journey or are they paid a set sum per ticket or per stage ?
depending on which way the company are paid there could be a big fiddle going on

I always catch the bus at the bottom of Lonsdale street to town and get the bus back to the Acorn centre.
but on a lot of tickets I have been noticing I have been getting on at ossy library or spread eagle street I even according to the ticket got on at Redcap pub to go to Accy (don't remember walking this far to catch a bus to Accy)
and going home I get off at Acorn centre remember I have tickets from Accy to spread eagle st even Harwood st / Tesco
This could be costing the council a lot of money and could put an end to these passes.

I would like to see some input from one of our council friends:o

Re: The NoW Card
 

yeh i noticed i get many different destinations on me ticket, further n what i am going, this is regular.:confused: Think we need to know how these are paid, certainly dont want to lose that card because of possible twisting.:eek:

Re: The NoW Card
 

Certainly looks a bit iffy Mick, why would they put a different access point or let off point to the real one, definitely dodgy to me.

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It is a very rare event if I catch a bus but I once caught one from Accrington Town Centre to the bottom of Dill Hall lane and used a NoW card, the ticket had the destination as Eachill Gardens Rishton.
The bus company could soon double their income if this practice is common place. Who pays for all this? me for one through Poll Tax.

Re: The NoW Card
 

It's the same with me .

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We use our NoW card quite a bit. Today on the bus back from Bury, there was a survey taking place...the chap was telling one of the ladies who asked.......the fare is calculated to the main stops(the little intermediate stops are largely ignored...because if you were paying, the fare would be the same to the nearest main stop).
We get off the bus at Sydney St...but the ticket recods Hare and Hounds. If we were paying, the fare would be the same.

LCC are billed for the re-imbursement of 75% of the cost of the journey.

So there you go.
I don't think the bus drivers would have any interest in'jewing' the authorities....and the bus companies would be dobbed in if the drivers thought there was something underhand about what was being done.

Re: The NoW Card
 

You should save those tickets and hand them in at the town hall, there will be quite a difference in the cost of the actual distance from Lonsdale St to Accy, compared to Spread Eagle Ossy to Accy, either some ones too lazy to calibrate the ticket machine or some ones found a way to milk the system.

Re: The NoW Card
 

That don't explain why i regularly get wrong destination or boarding point on me ticket Margaret?:confused:

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Travel to Bury is a diiferent service provider than th ones Mick and Cashy are on about, my wife uses the same service as you Margaret from the town center and her tickets always show the correct stop.

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Well Cashy all you have to do is query it with the driver.
I am under the impression that it is LCC who foot the bill for this travel...and it is also government backed too(whether this means that LCC recoup some of the cost from central government, I am not sure).

The boarding point on my ticket is always correct...though the alighting point may be different by one or two stops.

Re: The NoW Card
 

It might be down to different fare stages. I have a disabled now card and if i'm going to say from Rishton to Accrington it will have Station Road to Accrington Peel Street. I get on at Staunton Street Rishton which the stop after Station Road.

Re: The NoW Card
 

ive had tickets that said id got on at Christchurch .. and got off in bury .. anyway ive found this ... i know its cumbria but Lancashire will be something similar ...

6/1/2011 - Changes to Concessionary Bus Travel in Cumbria


Councillors today (Thursday January 6) approved plans for changes to concessionary bus travel in Cumbria .

From April 1 Cumbria County Council will take over responsibility from the district councils for administering the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) that provides people over 60 years of age - as well as those with disabilities who qualify - with a NoW card that gives free off peak travel on scheduled bus services.

This move follows a government decision to transfer concessionary travel responsibility to county councils and is being adopted all round the country.

Given that Cumbria County Council has to find major savings following a reduction in government grants, and so that there is parity across the whole county , the county council has decided to adopt the same minimum statutory provision for all concessionary travellers in all six districts .

Today Cumbria County Council's Cabinet agreed to provide free off peak travel (between 9.30am and 11pm Monday-Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays) for around 90,000 Cumbrian residents that are eligible, plus visitors to the county who are also eligible.

Cabinet also agreed to carry out a three-month review to study the level of reimbursement to transport operators. The current proposal is to reimburse them with 65 per cent of the fare, but this may have to be reduced to 60 per cent to make the scheme affordable.

Currently the district councils in Cumbria receive about £8.4million in grants from government for concessionary travel – allowing Carlisle and Eden councils to provide free travel for concessionary passengers around the clock - but this figure is being reduced.

It had been estimated that Cumbria County Council would get around £7.9million in grants from government for concessionary fares, but this figure now appears to be around £7.2million , meaning there is additional pressure to find savings.

These funding pressures mean that the county council can only operate the statutory minimum service, but it will help ensure taxpayers get better value for money.

Councillor Tim Knowles, Cumbria County Council's cabinet member for passenger transport, said: "We are committed to providing off peak concessionary travel for all those eligible in Cumbria , but as a council we have to find major savings given these tough economic times and the smaller financial grant we are receiving from government

"The harsh reality is that we've been passed on the poisoned chalice of funding the concessionary travel scheme at the time we're facing the biggest public sector spending cuts since the Second World War.

"This reduction in funding means we can't provide free travel around the clock, but it does mean we'll be introducing parity across the county in that all concessionary travellers will be subject to the same terms and conditions. It will end the postcode lottery of different entitlements for different people in Cumbria , but we are talking to the district councils to see whether they want to supplement the service in their area. If they want to do so then we're happy for them to spend money on enhancements that bolster concessionary travel , but we're starting with a level playing field.

"While we're happy to have discussions with the districts regarding them enhancing concessionary travel, we as a county council simply don't have the funding available to continue subsidising on peak concessionary travel ourselves."

NoWcard: Latest News

Re: The NoW Card
 

Even if your journey is calculated to the "stage stop" in my case this is "church Lights"
it does not explain why my tickets say spread eagle st or Harwood st/Tesco
or when I get on at Lonsdale street it says ossy library or redcap
it seams to only happen with one bus company (not saying which) as it could give the site problems

Re: The NoW Card
 

Mick, if it is just one bus company that uses this tactic then you should report them.

In the main, our use of the NoW card is on the Transdev services.......and the rossendale bus line.......and our destination and joining points are correct on these services.

I have used my NoW card in Bristol, and Canterbury too, and similarly, the details on my ticket have been correct.

Re: The NoW Card
 

This looks like another example of Taqiyya in action.
See post #5 here -
http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...ml#post1062091

Re: The NoW Card
 

There must be a reason why this happens, I'm like you cashy there's no smoke bout fire:rolleyes:

Re: The NoW Card
 

Where's Busman when you want him

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It is happening - I know an ex bus driver

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So yeh asked him then?;) i am near certain its happening, no-one makes that many mistakes.;)

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I have known about bus company fiddles for a while.
It does offend my sense of justice but to have taken any action to expose it would have likely caused him to lose his job.

In any case, it counts as 'small fry fiddling' when you consider all the corruption that happens higher up.

In some ways, small time bus operators couldn't continue to operate without such 'fiddles'. Do you report it and risk losing services altogether?

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There isn't a service worth a light if its dishonest, its about doing the right thing:(

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Tell that to the B(w)ankers, and all those 'honest' companies who don't pay any tax whatsoever.

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What bothers me is the thought of losing a good service cos the council cannot afford to run it??:confused: i agree its small fry, to fiddling higher up the line, But a "Fiddle" is a "Fiddle" to me, fine if yer getting away wi it, If yer caught yeh should pay the piper. I think many folk would suffer big time,if service was withdrawn through cost?

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So is this wrong O.K. cos these others are getting away?:eek: Maybe so in yer book, not in mine.:(

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Of course it is wrong, but to target small fry fiddling and leave the big companies to get on with it is a bigger injustice in my view.

We have a corrupt society based on greed. That is something I have come to terms with. Since the abolition of capitalism would cause more problems for us plebs, I think it best to leave well alone and hope that publicity about fiddling will cause us to avoid using the companies who fiddle.

Re: The NoW Card
 

still don't make it right

Re: The NoW Card
 

I am not saying it is.

There are many unjust practices happening - start with the big ones first.

PS I may sound 'commie' but consider that public transport should be publicly owned and FREE.

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My daughter worked for Customs and Revenue of a few years, and often said that taxing the big firms was one of the hardest jobs going, they employ slick accountants who are very savvy at legally keeping taxed paid very low, and I should think a few tricks which are not so legal too

Re: The NoW Card
 

None of us would suffer if the big companies paid their proper 'whack', but if a small time bus company ceases to operate many would.

I do not relish the prospect of Transdev (owned by the French I think) having a monopoly on public transport, charging what they like for the benefit of shareholders.

Re: The NoW Card
 

Still don't make it right

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So you would let this one bus company carry on fiddling the council and loose the" NoW card "?

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Since we are on the topic of public transport, It is interesting to note that the famous Dr Beeching, who reduced the railway system to a skeleton of its former self, was an executive director of a road haulage company.

Re: The NoW Card
 

I think I know which company you refer to in this thread, and I hear their fares are less than Transdev.

'Honesty' has a price - realisticly - are you willing to be fleeced by Transdev? or subsidise one of their competitors a little more than is legal- It's all 'roundabouts and swings' when you weigh it up.

Their 'fiddle' keeps the company afloat providing cheaper fares for those who haven't a Nowcard.

PS consider if Transdev had a monopoly - higher fares = more paid to subsidise Nowcards - 'roundabouts and swings'

Re: The NoW Card
 

hang on .. its not just that one company ... I only use the one you've mentioned or the one supposedly for my borough .. even tho since privatisation they've gone more into rochdale and bury rather than sticking to what they know ...

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One lucrative part of bus company financing is derived from contracts to ferry children to and from sessions to the swimming baths. Competition for winning a tender is fierce and no doubt there are some 'back handers' flying around when the winning company is decided on.

I have no personal knowledge of corruption happening, but in the climate of greed we live in, it likely happens.

Capitalism = greed, at the expense of plebs (us).
Privatisation = no one has the incentive to fiddle.

Re: The NoW Card
 

Thing is MargaretR, we have lost the Blackpool fer £1 Run (which i accept) n i have used it, Due to tightening of purse strings, Which "All" councils are having to do, Yeh aint actually commented (unless i missed it) on the fact the same could possibly happen to the Free Bus Pass, if fiddling "IS" a cause of increased costs? That is one thing i would find very hard to take.:(

Re: The NoW Card
 

Abolishing this 'fiddle' would enable the big transport companies (with a monopoly) to increase fares, which would mean that the council would be paying more to subsidise the Nowcard users to use them - so there is nothing to gained from stopping this fiddle.

At present, the people without Nowcards get cheaper fares from small companies.

Re: The NoW Card
 

So yeh know this fer fact? Must be marvellous to be in the know wi these companies.:rolleyes:

Re: The NoW Card
 

How many times on this forum have there been posts showing outrage at Transdev's price increases?

I don't think any action to enable them to have a monopoly is in the public interest, and is likely to increase the subsidy costs of Nowcards - resulting in likely abolition of Nowcards.

This is a 'no win' situation - councils lose either way - or people lose free travel

Re: The NoW Card
 

PS - I recall the times when taxis were as rare as rocking horse poo.
Now it can be cheaper to use them. Hence taxi companies are flourishing and multiplying.

Our public transport needs to be publicly owned and free for all users.

This isn't a 'pipe dream' - it is happening

http://freepublictransports.com/
http://freepublictransports.com/city/

Re: The NoW Card
 

And in the very first article is this sentence:-

" With just a marginal tax-raise, the public transport system could be made free at the point of entry…"

Free? It's being pre-paid for by taxes, which makes me think our ideas of "free", may be somewhat different Marge. :)

Re: The NoW Card
 

The swedish way is to only have high earners pay extra tax - so the low income people (who can't afford cars) get it free.

There are some savings by not financing a ticket system - cost of printing, sale of, monitoring abuse of - tickets.

I don't think the principle is unrealistic at all.

Re: The NoW Card
 

I have been using my NoWcard for over two years since I had to give up driving on medical grounds and have often noticed that the bus stop printed on the ticket is not the actual one where I boarded. I supposed I'm somewhat naive and just thought that the driver had forgotten to change the stop, rather than being on the fiddle. However, I've just come across something a lot more worrying with regard to a NoWcard. A disabled resident has contacted me because renewal of her card has been refused. The lady is nearly 61 years old but won't qualify automatically for a card on age grounds until she reaches her state pension age, which in her case is 62. She is quite severely disabled in various respects but manages to do a small part-time job. I asked why renewal of the card had been refused. They said it's because she's only on the lower rate of disability allowance - if she was on the higher rate she would qualify. I said her health circumstances hadn't changed for the better so why was she entitled to a card before but not now? They said that when the cards were issued by the boroughs they sometimes interpreted the regulations rather flexibly but now they are issued by the county the regulations are applied strictly. They said that if the resident provided a photocopy of her blue badge, that would count as evidence of her disability. I explained that she didn't have a blue badge because she has no-one to run her round regularly - so all the more need for the card. Her GP had been asked for a medical report and had supplied it - this seemed to have gone astray! I said it seemed ridiculous that I as an able-bodied 64 year old could have a NoWcard on age grounds whereas this resident who really needed one on grounds of severe disability was being denied one. I'm going to pursue the matter as I think it's totally unfair that the lady can't get her card renewed. As for NoWcards being done away with in due course, there's often talk now at government level that "wealthy pensioners" may in due course lose their "perks" such as winter fuel allowance, free TV licence for over 75s, bus pass, etc. as they will become subject to means testing. I don't know what will be the definition of "wealthy" - will it be those who are really loaded or will it be people like me who have an occupational pension from their job and will therefore always be tax payers till their dying day?

Re: The NoW Card
 

I had to go to my doc's today, bus stop nearest is willows lane
Ticket said church to Crown ?
I was not even going into town

Re: The NoW Card
 

Surely someone should be investigating this alleged corrupt practice - but hopefully not the HBC employee who screwed up the Taxi Fare increases at considerable cost to the public purse.

One hopes that someone has the responsibility for overseeing local transport.

As an aside - the money lost on the taxi screw up would probably have paid for the subsidised trips to Blackpool etc. - so who pays for a screw up by a jobsworth, well of course it is the poor public.

Re: The NoW Card
 

What was the taxi screw up, I must have missed that?

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I could not tell you as I use a NoWcard:D but I think its about £1-25p from the stage "church" which includes Lonsdale St where I get on to town.

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It all sounds like a zone thing (they do that on some of the public transport here) as opposed to a blatant con. If you board at any stop within a certain zone, the price is a fixed rate to any stop within another zone, so the actual boarding/alighting stop is largely immaterial.

Then again, I could be badly wrong.:)

Re: The NoW Card
 

I think its the same here, but the destination on the ticket "Crown" is know where near the stage I got off at "Willows Lane" I would say its 4-5 stages further on:confused:

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Every time Barrie, every time, yet I haven't heard to many of our elected power brokers explaining, wonder where they've gone:rolleyes:

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HBC did not publish changes for a number of years to taxi fares as they are required to do by law. Rather than be taken to court they have agreed to refund a considerable sum (£300K ?) to all the taxi drivers/owners - which is sensible as it means legal fees are not added in to the cost.

Sounds as though some jobsworth failed to carry out his/her responsibility and there was no oversight carried out.

I am sure that if I had caused any of the companies I have worked for to lose that amount because of my negligence I would have received my termination letter.

Re: The NoW Card
 

This is a link to LT article about taxi licensing fees

Admin blunder means payouts totalling £210,000 to Hyndburn taxi drivers (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Re: The NoW Card
 

Can we please get back on thread this is about the Bus and the NoW card not the Taxi service thanks

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ok I was nosying around looking for information on the bus fare increase that came into being this weekend .. cant find nowt on the lcc website as usual .. and I came across this ....

12. Reimbursement rate

The reimbursement rate for services starting within the TCA's area of Lancashire County
Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council will be

relation to its claim for additional costs.

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environ...ransport/1.pdf

The NoW Card
 

You think that's important?
Had you got down the Railway early instead of sleeping in, you could have seen Mick's reaction to being charged an extra 20p on his pint!
Price increase? I'd have paid a translator to have told me what those words meant in plain English.

Re: The NoW Card
 

don't ask me to translate owt ... I have to get the spugster to translate Scottish ...:D