Nearly 30 Somerset bus services have been letting passengers ride for free due to a lack of contactless payments.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported in late-August that Somerset Council was losing "more than £100 a day" on the 68 bus route in Yeovil, with passengers who could not pay in cash being allowed to ride for free due to the lack of contactless payments.

The council's transport portfolio holder has now admitted that nearly 30 routes across Somerset (including the 68) are affected by the lack of contactless payments – with large sums of money not being collected as a result.

The council said many of those travelling already used concessionary passes and it was working tirelessly to resolve the issue for the remaining passengers.

Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, shadow portfolio holder for transport and digital, raised the issue when the full council convened in Bridgwater on September 27.

He said: "It was concerning to learn recently about the potential loss of over £100 a day on the Somerset Council operated 68 bus service from Yeovil bus station, as a result of allowing passengers on for free due to not having a contactless payment service.

"Only last week I had confirmation that the issue was still ongoing on this service.

"This self-inflicted financial damage takes on a greater seriousness when we consider the 'stark and challenging' financial situation that this council has described itself to be in."

The council is currently reviewing both its capital programme and its day-to-day spending on children's services and adult social care following recent warnings about its finances.

Mr Rodigues – who represents the Bridgwater East and Bawdrip division – continued: "Exactly how many council-operated bus services currently do not offer contactless payment options, and can you provide a list of these services?

"What is the estimated weekly financial loss attributed to the absence of contactless payments on these council-operated bus services?

"Could you please outline the concrete plans and timelines in place to implement contactless payment options on the affected bus services?"

Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for transport and digital, confirmed that "all council-operated routes and a number of subsidised contracted routes" were currently unable to offer contactless payment.

The council-operated routes, using its in-house fleet, are as follows:

• 3 (Taunton town service, serving Bishops Hull)
• 5 (Babcary to Yeovil – Wednesdays only)
• 8 (Pilton to Yeovil – Thursdays only)
• 9 (Crewkerne to Donyatt)
• 12 (Taunton town service, serving Monkton Heathfield)
• 18 (Ilminster to South Petherton – Tuesdays and Fridays only)
• 19 (Bridgwater to Street – college days only, morning and afternoon journeys only)
• 22B (Taunton to West Buckland – one journey, weekdays)
• 30 (Frome town service)
• 34 (Bruton to Charlton Hawthorne – school days, afternoon journey only)
• 39 (Bruton to Yeovil – Fridays only)
• 44 (Over Stratton to Yeovil)
• 48 (Burnham-on-Sea to Cheddar – Tuesdays and Fridays only)
• 56B (West Coker to Yeovil – one journey a day)
• 67 (Burnham-on-Sea to Wedmore)
• 68 (Yeovil town service – serving the town's two railway stations)
• 81A (Yeovil to Stanchester Academy – school days, morning and afternoon journeys only)
• 667 (Wincanton to Castle Cary – one journey a day
• F (Bridgwater town service)
• S1 – S3 (Ilminster shuttle service)

The impacted council-subsidised routes are:

• 10 (Porlock to Minehead – run by AtWest)
• 11C (Minehead town service – run by Ridlers)
• 56 (West Coker to Yeovil – run by Community Transport South West)
• 62 (Weston-super-Mare to Bridgwater College – college days only, run by Bakers Dolphin)
• 66 (Axbridge to Bridgwater College – college days only, run by Bakers Dolphin)
• 67 (Wedmore to Wookey Hole – run by Mendip Community Transport)
• 196 (Glastonbury tour bus – April to September, run by Mendip Community Transport)
• 198 (Dulverton to Minehead – run by AtWest)
• 665 (Kingweston to Yeovil – run by Mendip Community Transport)

Mr Rigby said the council did not keep estimates of how many passengers were being allowed to travel for free – meaning there was not a precise figure available on how much money the council had failed to collect in fares.

He told the full council: "It is not possible to identify the number of passengers being permitted to travel for free due to the issue with contactless payments.

"However, a decision was made that due to the technical difficulties which we are working tirelessly to try and resolve, we would allow passengers who were unable to pay with cash to travel for free, rather than leaving potentially vulnerable passengers stranded.

"Passengers are advised that they can travel for free on this occasion but need to ensure they bring cash payment for their next journey.

"Many of the passengers travelling on the routes identified will be concessionary pass holders and therefore, travelling for free. These journeys will all be recorded."

Mr Rigby – whose Lydeard division comprises villages to the north-west of Taunton – said the council's officers had been working tirelessly to resolve the problem.

He added: "Officers have been trying to resolve this issue for quite some time, which has proved extremely challenging.

"We are restricted to using one payment provider for this purpose and have encountered numerous barriers that we have had to overcome, due to the number of parties involved.

"We are now at a stage where the payment provider and ticket machine provider have finally reached agreement, with SMART Applications Management (SAM) acting as the managing agent for the agreement.

"We are still awaiting final confirmation of when the contactless payments can go-live and continue to chase on an almost daily basis."

The council recently received £737,079 from the Department for Transport (DfT) in the latest round of funding for its bus service improvements plan (BSIP) – though it has not confirmed how this funding will be spent.

A spokesman said: "While we welcome the confirmation of continued funding from the government, it is less than grants which we've previously received and therefore we will have some tough decisions to make about use of the money.

"It's really important that people continue to use bus services so we can make the money go further.

"We can't subsidise all services that are not deemed as commercially viable by operators, which means they are at risk if not enough people use them.

"Our Bus It campaign aims to get more people on buses to help safeguard routes across the county. Fares remain cheap compared to petrol, thanks to government funding, so you could save money if you go by bus to work or the shops."