Manual fare collection is the practice of collecting fares manually. "Fare collection" generally refers to the collection of fares in the transport industryin return for a ticket or passes to travel. Commonly used on buses and train transport systems, manual fare collection is increasingly becoming obsolete with the introduction of smart cards such as the Transport for London 'Oyster card'. However, in the face of this trend, some companies have opted to retain more traditional methods of manual fare collection to both save money and ensure reliability. In the United Kingdom, examples of this can be seen on the Transport for London Heritage lines and the FirstGroupFTR routes in York, Leeds, Luton, and Swansea where bus conductors have returned to work. The other reason may be for Heritage routes - tradition "look", for other routes agreements and strong unions with the tries from politics to lower the unemployment rate by making overworking in public service.
Equipment
A range of fare collection equipment has been developed over the last century in the United Kingdom.
Cash bag
A conductor may carry a cash bag in which cash is kept, thus making it easier while issuing tickets.
Coin dispenser
Perhaps the biggest development in manual fare collection is the coin dispenser, distributed by Jacques L. Galef. Mounted either in a driver's cab or on the belt of a conductor, the coin dispenser usually takes the form of a number of tubes fitted in a line together. Each tube holds a different denomination and tends to have some sort of :wikt:trigger|trigger which will release the coin from the bottom. In Britain, the Quick-Change and Pendamatic units, for example, has labelled plastic funnels at the top, which filter the coins into the tube. A trigger on the front of the machine then releases the coin by pushing a kicker, which holds the coin, forward in a pivotal motion. Other models in Britain, the Cambist and Metro Coin Dispensers, works on a similar principle but also have the option to be attached to the fare collection table allowing the operator to simply slide the coins into the respective tubes. Generally, coin dispensers in the UK are configured with the £1 cointo the left, then the 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p. However, some operators have customised their dispensers to better suit their individual needs.
Other fare collecting equipment includes tender trays which can be fitted to bus driver doors to allow the customer to put the fare down. These are common on most buses in the United Kingdom now, since they facilitate quick payment and also allow for the driver to have a screen protecting his cab, yet still securely collect change.
