page_title: Gibson ticket machine
section_title: The Gibson
hierarchical_section_title: Gibson ticket machine / The Gibson
caption_attribution_description: LT Gibson machine bus Tickets, 1969. Romford area
context_page_description: The Gibson A14 ticket machine is a handheld, hand-powered apparatus for issuing bus tickets from a blank paper roll, formerly used by London Transport and operated by a conductor or guard. It was in use from 1953 until 1993, was designed by former London Transport Superintendent of fare collection at LT's Effra Road ticket machine works, George Gibson. S It was manufactured by Ticket Issuing Machines Limited.
context_section_description: The Gibson used a very different system. Rather than using pre-printed tickets, information was printed onto a paper roll as part of the process of issuing the ticket. Altering various dials on the machine could alter the information printed, e.g. the ticket type (adult, child, single, return etc.) or the fare. Therefore, the ticket machine could be made much more compact.
  The Gibson also improved upon the Bell Punch system by having meters to record the numbers of each individual type of ticket issued.  Other advantages included faster issuing of tickets, that the conductor would have more hands free, and that tickets did not need to be specially pre-printed.  The latter also meant that companies was no longer had to account for an asset that needed to be audited, as the paper rolls have very little worth in comparison to a pre-printed ticket that could be stolen/pilfered.  By October 1958 Bell Punch machines on LT had been completely replaced (Poplar and West Ham trolleybus depots being the last to use them).
  Nearer the end of their use and after decimalisation of UK currency, LT dispensed with having the machines recording specific values for fares, as changing the printed plates at each fare increase was becoming expensive.  Instead, they machines used letter codes, and passengers on the bus could see which letter corresponded to which fare by a notice at the entrance to the vehicle.  In this way, only the notice would have to be changed at fare rises.
  They are often associated with Routemaster buses, as Gibson machines were most often used on crew-operated (driver and conductor) buses.  The Routemasters were some of the last buses to be crew-operated in London, due to their open rear entrances.  However, some types of buses, including the GS and RF types, did have adapted versions of the machine for use on driver-only buses.
  The Gibson was last officially used on 21 August 1993. It has become considered an iconic design within London transport history, due to its longevity, its use on the iconic Routemaster, and also due to the very distinctive whirring sound they produced when the handle was turned to issue a ticket.
caption: Gibson machine tickets from the Romford area, 1969
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