A young woman with a crying baby in a buggy, accompanied by an older lady, boarded the Compass-managed 47 bus in Saltdean recently.

The helpful driver waited while the baby and older lady settled, until the young woman tried to pay her fare with a Key Card.

With regret, the driver refused to accept this, pointing to a sign high up on the back window of the vehicle indicating that electronic tickets were not valid.

He apologised, but said that if he allowed her on the bus he would be suspended from his job should an inspector find out.

The mother, baby and older woman were then forced to leave the bus on a very wet, windy and bitterly cold afternoon.

It was like a scene from a Charles Dickens story.

The chaotic arrangements for ticketing since Brighton and Hove City Council awarded tenders to non-compatible companies are unacceptable.

After considerable negotiation, supported by local MP Simon Kirby, it was agreed that users of Compass and Big Lemon services could pre-load a Key Card, take it to the One Stop Travel shop in central Brighton and “swap” their prepaid electronic tickets for paper versions at no extra cost (other than, of course, their own time and effort).

There, customers have to use the magic words to the counter staff to request a “council bus service discount, as suggested by the council’s public transport team”.

It is unclear as to how the vast majority of residents, commuters and visitors could possibly know this, without the efforts of local campaigners who simply want a fair deal and equality of access to a city-wide fare structure.

There must be a better, more humane way to treat passengers.

Kate Harmond Allan, Northwood Avenue, Saltdean