Bus and train passengers with reductions on their smart card often pay more for their journey than those without reductions, the public transport ombudsman said on Thursday.

Reductions are only valid with the bus or train operator in a particular area and not across the whole journey and the basic fare has to be paid when changing between operators. This pushes up the cost, says the ombudsman.
In addition, passengers with reductions from more than one operator on their card often find that one reduction works but another does not. This is particularly the case when changing from train to local bus.
These problems must be sorted out to ensure passengers do not suffer financially from a system that is loaded in favour of operators, says the ombudsman.