Contactless bus payments continue to rise in West Yorkshire

New figures from First West Yorkshire have found over 4,250 bus passengers across the region are switching from cash to contactless payments every week.

The bus operator launched contactless payments over one month ago and since then it has recorded over 80,000 contactless transactions.

Their aim is to transform bus travel by encouraging more customers to make a switch to a cashless payment method, following a significant investment in nearly 900 new, contactless-friendly ticket machines.

By having the option to pay for travel with a contactless card or mobile, it is easier to catch the bus, as customers don’t need to worry about having the right change for their bus fare. The switch from cash also has a huge impact on boarding times; helping to speed up journey times and in most cases, is a more cost-effective method. These facts, alongside local initiatives, such as encouraging customers to put their weekly tickets into the ticket sleeve, instead of drivers, have contributed towards significant improvements in the punctuality of bus services across West Yorkshire.

Martin Hirst, Commercial Director of First West Yorkshire, said: “Uptake of customers using contactless continues to grow each week – and in fact, West Yorkshire is one of the fastest adopters of using contactless for purchasing bus tickets, in comparison to other First Bus operations in the UK.

“Alongside contactless, we also offer customers the choice to purchase tickets in advance of boarding, via our mTickets app. Use of mTickets continues to exceed our expectations and has seen a 100 per cent year-on-year growth. If more customers converted to using mTickets, contactless or the MCard, then this would have a huge impact on boarding times and would help us in the battle to speed up the bus.”

Contactless is a simple and secure way to pay for bus travel without needing cash and it can be used to purchase tickets up to the value of £30. Alongside contactless cards, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay and bPay are also accepted.