Letter: Cheaper bus fares should not require owning a smartphone

A letter published in the Guardian raises concerns that discounted bus fares are increasingly only available through smartphone apps, penalising people who do not own or use a smartphone.

The letter, from reader Owen Fraser, responds to an earlier Guardian article by Anna Tims that reported schoolchildren without smartphones were being charged higher bus fares than classmates who could access discounts through an app.

A Scottish comparison

Fraser writes that he lives in Scotland, where the issue is addressed differently: bus travel is free for children and young people under 22 who hold a physical National Entitlement Card, removing the need for a smartphone to access the discount.

Fraser says he nonetheless experiences a related problem, describing a more general pattern in which cheaper bus pass options are "hidden behind smartphone apps," limiting access for people who prefer or need a non-digital option regardless of age.

The letter frames this as part of a wider issue around the effects of requiring technology to access services that were previously available to everyone on equal terms, echoing concerns raised in the original article about the impact on children in particular.

No specific policy change is proposed in the letter, which is presented as a response adding a personal and geographic perspective to the debate opened by the original reporting on bus fare access.