2,100 bus passengers a week switching to contactless

First South Yorkshire said it believed 2,100 people were switching to contactless every week.

The company has recorded over 42,000 contactless transactions since the new payment method was introduced a month ago across the county, with 400 new ticket machines having been fitted on buses.

Passengers can now used cards or smartphones to pay instead of fumbling for change, which First said was also speeding up journey times.

Allan Riggall, head of commercial at First South Yorkshire, said: “We’re pleased to see customers making the switch from paying with cash to contactless and the feedback has been hugely positive so far. 

“Uptake of customers using contactless continues to grow each week and we expect this figure to continue to rise once we add the option to purchase weekly tickets onto our ticket machines later this year.

“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 or contactless, then this would have a huge impact on boarding times and would help us in the battle to speed up the bus.”

Ben Gilligan, director of public transport at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), said: “We know that customers value the ‘turn up and go’ experience of bus travel, but they also value flexible payment methods, and ways of paying when they might not have cash to hand. 

“Contactless payments offer another way to pay, alongside smartcards and mobile tickets, and it’s good to see so many customers making use of this new service from First.”