Contactless now available on First Manchester Buses

Contactless now available on First Manchester Buses

Bus passengers can now pay for their tickets using contactless across all First Manchester vehicles.

Contactless payments mean that customers can switch from paying with cash to using their card or mobile; making it even easier to catch the bus. Contactless, alongside the mobile mTickets available, means that customers no longer need to worry about having the right change before they board a bus.

The switch from cash to a ‘digital’ payment also has a huge impact on boarding times; helping in the longer term, to speed up bus journey times. For customers looking for even more convenient ways to buy bus tickets, mTickets can be purchased in advance of boarding the bus and in most cases, are cheaper than buying a ticket directly from the driver.

Ian Humphreys, Managing Director of First Manchester, said: “We are proud to announce the anticipated launch of contactless payments across our entire Greater Manchester fleet. We’ve made a significant investment in new ‘Ticketer’ ticket machines, which means that we can now offer contactless as a payment option for our customers.

“The introduction of contactless payments alongside our success with mobile ticketing means that paying for bus travel is more convenient and simpler than ever before. First Bus now offers contactless as a payment option across all the UK and we are seeing customers switching to contactless every week and so we’re expecting to see similar results across our Greater Manchester business.

“If more customers switched from cash to a ‘digital’ payment method, then this would help to speed up bus barding times and will therefore make overall journeys quicker.”

Contactless is a secure way to pay for bus travel without needing cash and can be used to purchase any paper tickets up to the value of £30. To use contactless, request the ticket you wish to purchase from the driver, present your contactless card or mobile and you will receive a receipt along with a ticket for your journey.