Cubic Transportation Systems, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) partner for ticketing, gating and revenue management, is celebrating a major milestone in an ambitious project to enable the city’s entire transport network to accept payment via contactless debit and credit cards.

The cooperation between TfL and Cubic means that passengers traveling by bus in London have the option of paying their fare with their contactless debit, credit or charge card by simply presenting it to one of the card readers on the bus.

The new scheme requires no pre-registration and provides a useful and alternative means of payment for individual bus journeys while still attracting the same low fare previously only available with the Oyster card. This means cash fare payers, or Oyster card holders who find themselves temporarily with an insufficient Oyster balance, can opt for using their contactless debit, credit or charge cards.       

Contactless bank cards are increasing in popularity and prevalence as a convenient means of paying for everyday items quickly and securely. As more people are issued contactless cards, the numbers who may want to use them for their travel payments will rise.

Prior to the launch, each of London’s 8,500 buses was equipped with a contactless-enabled reader, developed by Cubic in conjunction with TfL and compatible with all contactless bank cards as well as London’s Oyster smart card.

London buses operate a flat fare policy, making them the ideal candidate for the first stage of contactless deployment. Plans include rollout to other modes of transport on the TfL network with more complex fare structures, including Tube, tram, Docklands Light Railway and London Overground.