The last time I got a paper ticket for a TfL journey was at the olympic games in 2012 where I think they gave you one for free if you had a ticket for one of the sporting events.
Other then that I just used my Oyster card. I don't live in London any more, but I've been back for visits/work and I've had no issues using Google or Apple Pay for contactless tap ins/outs - it's all very seamless. It's really impressive tbh and it's a shame this sort of system isn't rolled out to other cities in the UK, or at least is has patchy support.
Checking in and out by phone was recently rolled out nationally in the Netherlands, but at a slightly higher cost than the subscriber's card. It works on every train, metro, tram and bus in the country. The subscribers get the additional benefit of being able to hire bicycles from the train stations also.
My understanding is that that's the same cost as an anonymous blue card, not the yellow card subscribers have, meaning you'll pay the extra 40% on the train for example.
AFAIK this is true if you have the various 'plans' on your personal (yellow) card, which comes with additional cost. The 40% discount is there with one of these https://www.ns.nl/en/season-tickets/
That's super helpful, thank you. I guess for most people not using subscriptions the main reason was the automatic saldo, but now with mobile pay that's not an issue. No need to get your money back either, though I was under the impression that this is now also possible with anonymous cards.
Manchester is slowly limping out the Bee Network (or whatever it's called now) which is modelled on Oyster. Tram and local train journeys can be mixed on a touch in/out system and the buses are to be included as the route contracts end.
I occasionally still use paper tickets, since if you book train travel that requires changing London terminals (e.g. come in through Waterloo, leave from King's Cross) your ticket is valid for the underground connection, and even if you book it digitally it'll give you a reference to collect a paper ticket rather than a QR code for (I assume) that reason. (Yes, I've made the mistake of forgetting/not realising to collect it!)
Other then that I just used my Oyster card. I don't live in London any more, but I've been back for visits/work and I've had no issues using Google or Apple Pay for contactless tap ins/outs - it's all very seamless. It's really impressive tbh and it's a shame this sort of system isn't rolled out to other cities in the UK, or at least is has patchy support.