Nobody wrote:
On 27 Jun 2008 19:52:56 GMT, Rian van der Borgt
wrote:
Here in Belgium, bus/tram drivers are also very reluctant to eccept 50
euro notes, simply because they often don't have enough change for them.

Most buses in the UK do not accept GBP20 notes for the same reason.

And then in this section of North America at least (Metro Vancouver),
you have to have EXACT coin change to pay on board a bus...

AFAIK, that is the case for all buses in the US as well. Exact cash
fares are required, though many systems will let you overpay if you
don't demand change (i.e. they'll let you pay USD2 for a USD1.50 fare).

There are many reasons for this. The most obvious is that making change
increases dwell time, which slows the bus down. The more important one,
though, is that this way the driver does not handle any money; the fare
goes directly from the passenger's hands into a lockbox, which reduces
the risks of both driver theft and robbery.

ticket machines at SkyTrain/SeaBus stations will accept bills to $20
and make change, as well as accept credit/debit cards... once the fare
is paid, the ticket/transfer is valid across the whole transit system
(bus/train/ferry), depending on the zone/s paid for.

AFAIK, all TVMs in the US and Canada will accept $20 bills. The problem
with doing that is the change you get: a USD1.50 ticket here means
twenty coins (18x$1, 2x25c) in change from a USD20 bill, and that's
enough weight and bulk to seriously annoy you. As a result, I rarely
see anyone using bills larger than $5 at our TVMs.

S

Canadian $2 coins (twoonies) and $1 coins (loonies) get rid of a lot
of that jingle-jangle!

Given that Metro Vancouver's base fare is $2.50 (i.e. one zone) or
$3.75/two zone, or $5/three zone, the change factor becomes relatively
minimal.

If those charges seem large, "fare saver" books and monthly passes
offer substantial discounts.

For example, a "ten-ticket" single-zone fare-saver booklet costs $19,
or $1.90/trip and is totally transferrable within the one zone, or
tri-zone system-wide after 6.30 p.m. and all day Sats/Suns/public
holidays.

An adult unrestricted daypass system-wise (all three zones but only
available after 9.30 a.m.) is $9.

Monthly fare cards by zone crossing for unlimited use are $73/99/136,
with a flat concession card at $42 anywhere, anytime for oldies and
kiddies.

The transit system (three zones) stretches from Lions Bay in the far
NW, to deep Langley in the far SE -- somewhere in the region of 75km
or more -- and all the way south to the Ammurican border -- though it
is concentrated in the "core" municipalities of the North Shore,
Vancouver city, Burnaby, New Westminster, Tri-Cities (in the NE),
Surrey/Delta, and Richmond.