Contactless travel for all buses by 2022

Bus and rail passengers across the UK will be able to pay for their travel using contactless cards and devices by 2022 as the Department for Transport (DfT) announces advancements for smart-ticketing.

Speaking at the UK Cards Association, Transport Minister Andrew Jones welcomed the progress by revealing that the countries five largest bus operators have announced contactless travel for all heir buses by 2022.

Smart ticketing offers convenience and flexibility for passengers, allowing for quick connections between different modes of transport, which contributes to the reducing of ticket queues and crowding at transport interchanges. There are currently 700,000 smartcards in use in Smart Cities Partnership (SCP) cities.

The work of the SCP has encouraged the UK’s big five bus operators to announce that they will bring contactless travel to every bus in Britain by 2022, with many areas benefiting sooner, while the rail industry has agreed a tranche of funding and a new framework to explore how contactless payments could be introduced for rail season tickets or long-distance train travel, so passengers no longer have to print out tickets.

Elsewhere, Centro, West Midland’s integrated transport authority, backed by £620,000 of DfT funding, is extending the Swift smartcard across the region. In September 2015, passengers started using the Oyster-style cards at the redeveloped Birmingham New Street station and from next month Swift cards will work on buses, trams and trains in the area.

Other city regions across the country have rolled out the technology including capped Nexus card travel in Tyne and Wear for affordable travel, and brand new multi-operator bus cards in Brighton and Manchester so passengers save time and money by using one card for all bus services in their city.

The participating SCP local transport authorities across England include: Centro; Leicester City Council; Merseytravel; Nexus; Nottingham City Council; South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive; Transport for Greater Manchester; West of England Partnership; and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Supporting bus operators include: Arriva; First Group; Go-Ahead; National Express; Stagecoach; and Album – the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

Ahead of his expected speech, Jones said: “The smart ticketing revolution is helping to build a modern, affordable transport network that provides better journeys for everyone.

“By working together, industry, city regions and government have been able to ensure more and more people can use smart ticketing to get around. We are determined to continue driving progress so passengers get the quick and simple journeys that they want and deserve.”