RIP coins and notes, in the capital at least...London buses yesterday stopped accepting cash fares on all routes. Passengers now need to be in possession of a prepaid or concessionary ticket, Oyster card or contactless payment card.

TfL claims that the move will have no impact on the vast majority of passengers as over 99 per cent already pay for their journeys with Oyster, or using a prepaid or concessionary ticket. A decade ago around 25 per cent of journeys were paid for with a cash fare but that figure has now fallen to less than one per cent.

Mike Weston, TfL's director of buses, says: "The way our customers pay for goods and services is evolving, so we need to ensure our ticketing evolves too. Removing cash from our bus network not only offers customers a quicker and more efficient bus service but it enables us to make savings of £24 million a year which will be re-invested to further improve London's transport network."

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