Contactless payment system launched on London buses

Date: 10/12/2012

London buses will be equipped with contactless payment technology for the first time this week, allowing commuters to pay their fares using their debit and credit cards.

The system will be one of the most advanced of its kind in the world and (TfL) Transport for London will roll it out gradually.

Only those passengers whose bank cards are enabled with wave-and-pay technology will be able to make use of the method, but in future this is likely to be everyone, reports the Financial Times.

Starting with buses, the new payment type will then be extended across other forms of public transport including the Tube and Docklands Light Railway.

The process of rolling out the system will begin on Thursday, despite the fact that it was originally expected to be finished by the end of 2012.

Delays have occurred as TfL went with an approach which included building its own engine to interface with the systems of payment that banks have in place.

The Oyster card, which many people use to purchase credit for travelling on public transport, will not immediately be replaced by the system.

In the long-term however, the new method of payment should be cheaper to run than the Oyster card, which was originally launched in 2003.

Millions of Oyster cards are currently in operation in the capital, but by paying directly with a credit card, the need for them will be cut out.

A number of new smartphones are also being fitted with contactless technology, making it likely that people will also use their mobile phones as a method of payment in the future.

Around 30 million contactless bank cards have so far been issued in the UK, but customers have been slow to come on board with them in the wave-and-pay manner.

Once people start using them on public transport there is a good chance that this will be a gateway to using them for other purchases too.

Customers can make a maximum payment of £20 at a time, five times a day, without having to enter a personal identification number.

Posted by Mary Treen

Transport News and Transport Consulting News