It is good to see so many bus companies now accepting contactless bank and credit cards for payment. These have rapidly become the norm for making retail purchases under £30 and I am sure passengers, drivers and backroom staff appreciate not having to deal with cash.
Some companies are going farther and trialling the use of contactless cards to tap-on and tap-off when alighting, with a consequential subsequent charge to the card being the fare that would have been paid.
As a further inducement, this is linked to a cap equivalent to the cost of a day (or even a weekly) ticket for the area travelled within but there is a lot to think about before such schemes become widespread.
There is the issue of confusing terminology. Companies using contactless instead of cash to simply pay for a traditional ticket often refer to ‘tapping’ in their marketing. I have seen posters recommending passengers Tap-&-Go to buy a ticket from the driver. However, similar wording (e.g. Tap-&-Pay, Tap-on/Tap-off) is used by companies trialling the more advanced ticketless travel. How are passengers to know the difference, especially as there is a vital distinction?
Boarding a bus offering both contactless payment options…
