London's transport network completes one billion contactless payment journeys

TINNews |

Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that its passengers have made more than one billion pay-as-you-go journeys with contactless payment cards, the new form of payment option.

TfL figures also revealed that nearly two million journeys are now made using contactless payments on a daily basis.

Roughly 40% of all pay-as-you-go journeys are currently made using contactless methods, which marks a significant increase from the figure of 25% recorded in early 2016.

The report also stated that almost 31 million contactless transactions were made using mobile phones over the last 12 months.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “London continues to lead the way in terms of contactless payment around the world, and the money we make selling TfL's innovation and expertise to other major global cities will allow us to put further money into improving London's own transport network.”

The contactless payment system was first introduced on London’s bus services in December 2012, which was later extended to city's rail and tube services in September 2014.

"Our contactless technology is now making it easier for people to travel around the city, whether it's for work, leisure or to visit friends and family."

The system charges the customer at the end of the day by calculating the best value fare based on the individual customer’s specific journey history.

Transport for London chief technology officer Shashi Verma said: “Contactless payments have completely transformed the way people pay for travel in London, and it's great to see more than one billion journeys now made across the Capital's transport network.

“Our contactless technology is now making it easier for people to travel around the city, whether it's for work, leisure or to visit friends and family.”

The service is also scheduled to be expanded to the Elizabeth line, which is expected to start operating by December 2019.

TfL entered a £15m deal with Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) last year to adapt the capital's contactless ticketing system for use worldwide.

The agreement represents the first contract that will see the sale of TfL's expertise both at home and abroad.