Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) along with Transport for London (TfL) received a major honor for London’s contactless bankcard system after winning the ‘Technological Innovation’ award at the 18th annual Rail Business Awards. The event recognizes excellence and innovation in the UK’s rail sector. This is the eighth major award for Cubic and TfL’s contactless system.

Launched in 2012, the contactless bankcard system was extended in 2014 to cover London’s entire transit network — including Tube, rail, bus and tram services. Since the introduction of the contactless payment scheme, more than 350 million contactless journeys have been made across the network.

“It’s great to win another key industry award for our contactless payment system. This is just one of the many projects we are working on to make paying for transport easier for everyone travelling in the Capital and beyond,” said Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Customer Experience. “More than 28 percent of our pay-as-you-go customers use contactless payment already because it is so quick and easy. There's no need to top-up, you just touch in and out with your credit or debit card.”

Cubic played a crucial role in the development of the payment system, spending three years researching and developing the Tri-Reader 3 to process contactless-enabled bankcards. It’s the first reader in the transport industry certified to read Oyster cards, Integrated Transport Smartcard Organization (ITSO) cards and Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled devices.

More than one million journeys are made using contactless bankcard payments every weekday. In addition, bankcards from more than 80 countries are used on the London system, bringing a new level of convenience for the millions of visitors who visit London each year.