FirstGroup , the UK’s largest bus and rail operator, intends to be the first bus operator outside London to offer customers a ‘touch in, touch out’ contactless fare payment option. The new ticket machines, designed to read contactless debit or credit cards, in addition to “ITSO” smartcards such as concessionary bus passes, will be introduced to buses from the autumn and will initially allow customers with an ITSO smartcard to touch in. Contactless bank cards will be accepted across England from late 2012.
First’s new ticketing system will act much like London’s Oyster Card; customers will simply ‘touch in’ and ‘touch out’ using their debit or credit card, taking less than a second, and avoiding the need to carry the correct change. The system will also allow FirstGroup to offer a range of tickets including capping the daily fare.
But, unlike Oyster, customers won’t need to carry an additional card or worry about pre-payment or topping up. Customers using the contactless cards will simply see the cost of the fare deducted from their bank or credit card balance.
With the continuing rapid advancement of mobile phone technology, FirstGroup has also ensured that its new system has the capability to accept payment via mobile phone.
The news should also be welcomed by the York Council as it has a long standing commitment to introducing a cashless payment option. The new system could also provide a platform for the introduction of “cross ticketing”, avoiding costly back office manual revenue apportionment systems.
The system also allows for the maximum daily fare to be capped, potentially encouraging greater use of public transport.
A similar system has been suggested for introduction at York’s car parks, thus eliminating the need for a driver to “forecast” how long they intend to stay at pre payment sites.
FirstGroup’s UK Bus division carries approximately 2.5 million customers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities. As well as York, the new ticketing technology will be implemented to all of First’s services in England, including Manchester, Bolton, Oldham, Wigan, Stoke, Northampton, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford, Leicester, Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Bristol, Ipswich, Norwich, Slough and Bracknell.
The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker MP, welcomed the news: “I want to see smart ticketing rolled out across public transport in England as quickly as possible and this announcement from FirstGroup is a positive step towards achieving that.”