A major bus operator has rolled out daily capping on contactless fares across two of its companies in the South East.
The system, which was launched last week, uses specially designed location-enabled readers using open standards and automatically limits the cost of travel at the appropriate day fare that passengers pay for unlimited use of both Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus services.
Brighton and Hove Buses introduced contactless payment in Autumn 2018, although passengers previously had to specify a destination.
Now they can tap a card reader with their bank card, smartphone or wearable device when boarding and disembarking for their fare to be calculated.
Go-Ahead said the new system marks the first time that passengers outside of London can benefit from a ‘tap-on tap-off’ ticketing cap across multiple bus operators.
However, both Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus, which operates services in Surrey, Kent and Sussex, are owned by Go-Ahead.
Brighton and Hove Buses told Transport Network that it hopes to include other operators in the offer. Managing director Martin Harris said: 'We are working with the IT Department at Go-Ahead at the moment to resolve it and we're eager to work with other local operators on this opportunity.'
The firm added that its tickets, key cards and M-tickets are currently also accepted on Big Lemon buses and most Compass services in Brighton and Hove, and vice versa. This uses Go-Ahead's back office systems and Ticketer ticket machines.
Go-Ahead Group chief information officer Enrique Fernandez said: ‘We are delighted to offer a simple new fare for our passengers in the South of England, limiting the cost of travel and offering the best value fare, regardless of which buses they use.
‘We believe that public transport should be easy, convenient and affordable, and this new tap-on tap-off scheme will allow the customers to travel with ease and the comfort of knowing they are only ever paying for the exact trip they take.’
Littlepay CEO Amin Shayan said: ‘It's been a great experience working with the Go-Ahead Group as its contactless payment service provider since 2017.
The group was our first customer in the UK and now they are also the first to deploy Littlepay's multi-operator capping feature.’
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
