With reference to the letter by Kate Harmond Allan of Saltdean regarding Compass buses not taking Brighton and Hove Bus Company Key Cards (The Argus, May 17), I recently approached Brighton and Hove Buses as to why the decision had been made not to accept key cards.

It said it was of the belief that Compass would be accepting Key Cards. However, once the tender had been awarded by Brighton and Hove City Council to Compass Bus, this was no longer the case.

They did, as a goodwill gesture, swap any Key Cards back to paper tickets until the end of September 2012 following the council’s decision.

However, I, like many others I’m sure, would prefer to keep their Key Card for the sheer convenience of being able to charge it online and use it on other buses in the city.

I don’t want to use paper tickets – it’s such a backwards step.

I make about 20 journeys a week and the key card is extremely convenient and speeds up boarding and alighting times as the driver does not have to study dates and photo cards to check they are valid.

Other parts of the UK, such as the Channel Islands, have been using a card-based bus system for many years now – Jersey and Guernsey offer discounts the more journeys customers buy in one go.

I wonder when Compass will catch up?

I don’t know the details of how this Key Card situation was allowed to happen. It would be interesting to get the official answer.

M Hook, Lenham Avenue, Saltdean