Urgent work under way to fix bus ticket machines

The States of Guernsey said the errors were brought to its attention on Friday

Stagecoach is working urgently to fix issues with ticketing machines on "a small number" of the island's buses, the States of Guernsey has said.

The BBC understands some bus users have been able to travel for free in recent days as a result of the problems.

The States said an investigation found errors had resulted from a software issue following an update administered by system provider Ticketer.

Adam Toone, Ticketer's chief commercial and operations officer, said they were aware of the issue and they were "working closely with all parties to restore full functionality".

Laura Oxburgh, head of on-island travel and transport implementation, said: "It was brought to our attention on Friday that a small number of bus ticketing machines were experiencing errors.

"Stagecoach are working with Ticketer to urgently resolve the matter."

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: "We are aware that a number of on-bus ticket machines in Guernsey are currently affected by a technical issue linked to the Ticketer system used across the network.

"This is a supplier-related software issue, and we are working closely with Ticketer to help them resolve it as quickly as possible.

"We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding while Ticketer works to implement a fix."

Mr Toone said the issue was affecting a "small number" of ticket machines operated by Stagecoach in the island.

"Our team identified that this occurred following a planned software upgrade, which was tested in line with our agreed processes and approved by the customer prior to rollout," he said.

"We are working closely with all parties, with engineers on-site, to restore full functionality."