![The Ultimate Fare Collection System - and what it can do for you " brochure issued by Bell Punch Co Ltd., London, nd [c1970] | by mikeyashworth](http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51726765321_5ac4711e2b.jpg)
The Ultimate Fare Collection System - and what it can do for you " brochure issued by Bell Punch Co Ltd., London, nd [c1970]
A once familiar sight to those of us who boarded buses, sat down and waited for the conductor to come along and take our fare! The Ultimate was the ticket machine chosen by many operators and could even be found, to a more limited extent, on OPO buses until more ingenious electronic machines came into use. Other versions of the Ultimate could be found in cinemas, baths and other public venues where, built into counters, the Ultimatic was used.
Manufactured by the Bell Punch Co Ltd, at works in Uxbridge, the Ultimate came in five 'sizes. ranging from one unit to a large six unit. Most municipal operators managed with five - each 'unit' issued a pre-printed value ticket and the 'denomiations' were used to issue other values if required ; for example a 5d ticket could be two 2d and one 1d ticket. The knob on the side was for information such as fare stages or date - up to five different 'items' could be provided.
The brochure has a 'print date' of 1954 and much of the contents feels of that age but the covers have been updated to include more modern "01" London telephone numbers but values are pre-decimal. Bell Punch - the title alludes to the original type of punch used to 'clip' a pre-printed ticket taht activated a bell to allow passengers to know the action had taken place - was formed in 1878 and grew into a concern whose activities covered many forms of ticket systems and the allied interests of calculators and totalisers. The early success was based upon the adoption of the Bell Punch by the major London bus and tram operators in the late Victorian era and the susbsequent growth of bus and tram systems across the UK who required fare collection systems.
The holding company Control Systems was formed in 1927. Although various aspects such as calculators were divested over the years Control Systems was finally taken over in the 1980s by a Swedish company and the name vanished.
The Ultimate Fare Collection System - and what it can do for you " brochure issued by Bell Punch Co Ltd., London, nd [c1970]
A once familiar sight to those of us who boarded buses, sat down and waited for the conductor to come along and take our fare! The Ultimate was the ticket machine chosen by many operators and could even be found, to a more limited extent, on OPO buses until more ingenious electronic machines came into use. Other versions of the Ultimate could be found in cinemas, baths and other public venues where, built into counters, the Ultimatic was used.
Manufactured by the Bell Punch Co Ltd, at works in Uxbridge, the Ultimate came in five 'sizes. ranging from one unit to a large six unit. Most municipal operators managed with five - each 'unit' issued a pre-printed value ticket and the 'denomiations' were used to issue other values if required ; for example a 5d ticket could be two 2d and one 1d ticket. The knob on the side was for information such as fare stages or date - up to five different 'items' could be provided.
The brochure has a 'print date' of 1954 and much of the contents feels of that age but the covers have been updated to include more modern "01" London telephone numbers but values are pre-decimal. Bell Punch - the title alludes to the original type of punch used to 'clip' a pre-printed ticket taht activated a bell to allow passengers to know the action had taken place - was formed in 1878 and grew into a concern whose activities covered many forms of ticket systems and the allied interests of calculators and totalisers. The early success was based upon the adoption of the Bell Punch by the major London bus and tram operators in the late Victorian era and the susbsequent growth of bus and tram systems across the UK who required fare collection systems.
The holding company Control Systems was formed in 1927. Although various aspects such as calculators were divested over the years Control Systems was finally taken over in the 1980s by a Swedish company and the name vanished.