FirstGroup, the UK bus operator, has revealed plans to invest £27m ($43m) in the implementation of contactless debit and credit card technology on public transport.
The first machines are set to be installed this autumn across 5,000 buses outside of London, although contactless payments will not be accepted until 2012.
FirstGroup, which also owns the Greyhound Buses in the US, will be the one of the first bus operator to implement touch in touch out contactless payment in the UK outside of London.
In September 2009, WorldPay had introduced credit and debit card contactless payments on the bus fleets of Stagecoach, which services Liverpool and the surrounding district.
FirstGroup’s system also payments via mobile phone.
Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of FirstGroups UK bus division, described the announcement as groundbreaking for the bus industry.
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By GlobalDataThe public transport industry will increasingly rely on new technology such as contactless bank cards and mobile phones to both retain and attract customers.
The £18m contract to supply ticket machines has been won by Swindon-based Almex, part of Hoeft & Wessel Group.
Peter Aylward, General Manager of Almex, said:
Almex is proud to have been confirmed as a strategic partner, we have a strong heritage of technical innovation but we have always aimed at applying appropriate technology to deliver real value to FirstGroups customers; our new system is no exception to this.
