Query About London Hopper Fare (Bus to Tram Transition)
Today, I took a bus and tapped on with my contactless card. After about 15 minutes, I got off and rushed to catch a tram. Unfortunately, I didn’t tap in on the card reader at the tram stop because it was my first time riding a tram, and I mistakenly thought I could tap on once I was on board. I planned to get off at the next stop to tap my card since I remained within the one-hour window of my initial bus tap.
Then, a ticket inspector approached and asked me to tap my card on his reader, which I did. I was worried there might be an issue, but he simply said, “all good, thanks!” and moved on.
Can someone explain what happened? Does my situation count as fare evasion? Am I at risk of being charged a penalty fare or the maximum fare on my card tomorrow?
It sounds like you handled the situation correctly! Here’s what likely happened:
When you tapped your contactless card on the inspector’s reader, he was able to see your journey history, which confirmed that you had tapped on for your bus ride within the correct time frame for a hopper fare. The hopper fare allows you to transfer between buses and trams within an hour of your first tap, so since you were still within that time limit, you were not fare evading.
Since the inspector acknowledged your tap and said “all good,” it seems that he recognized that you were complying with the fare structure and didn’t see you as a fare evader. As long as you had valid fare on your card at the time he checked, you shouldn’t expect to receive a penalty fare or have any additional charges applied.
To summarize, it appears you were in the clear, and your actions align with the fare rules. Just make sure to tap on at the tram stop next time!