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Edinburgh will soon become the latest city to implement ‘tap on, tap off’ technology to allow smoother journeys across its transport system.
Forget the days of scrambling around for the correct change or losing your paper ticket down the back of the seats, as the new system will allow for contactless payment, hopefully reducing queuing, improving journey times and simplifying charges.
While the city’s Lothian Buses already operate a contactless system, it will now also be used by Edinburgh’s trams.
This will enable travellers to ‘mix and match’ their journeys, with fares capped both daily and weekly.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When will ‘tap on, tap off’ be introduced for Edinburgh trams?
Edinburgh Trams has said that the system is now in its ‘final stages of testing’, and a launch date will be announced shortly.
Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams’ Managing Director, said: ‘The cutting-edge technology requires extensive testing before it becomes fully operational, but we are now just weeks away from it being rolled out across the network.
‘When the system goes live, it will mark another milestone for Edinburgh Trams, the city, and its world-class public transport network.’
Daily fares will be capped at £5 (regardless of whether you use trams or buses, or both), and weekly charges will max out at £24.50. The weekly calculation will be refreshed every Monday.
Failure to tap out after a tram journey will result in a charge of £7.90, which will not be included in daily or weekly capping.
How does ‘tap on, tap off’ (ToTo) transport work?
Negating the need for paper tickets, ‘tap on, tap off’ integrated transport payment systems do exactly what they say on the tin.
You ‘tap on’ at the beginning of your journey using a contactless debit card, smartwatch, or other contactless payment method.
If this is a flat fare (like a single ‘hopper’ bus fare), this is factored into your maximum daily or weekly charge.
If you’re taking a journey where the fare may vary by destination (such as by tram or train), you may have to ‘tap off’ at your journey’s end, where the charge will be added.
Overall payment is then calculated based on the cheapest fare for the number of journeys made and debited from the account, usually in the early hours of the following morning.
As the system is integrated, charges can be capped, so you never pay more than a specific maximum, despite using multiple forms of transport to complete your journey.
However, failure to ‘tap out’ at the end of a journey can result in a penalty fare being applied. You’ll also need to touch in or out with the same card or device you used to begin your journey.
Which cities already have ‘tap on, tap off’ transport?
While Edinburgh’s project is the first of its kind in Scotland, the contactless technology has already been implemented in cities across the UK, including Manchester, whose mayor, Andy Burnham, recently announced that Bee Network buses would also be included in the ‘tap-on, tap off’ system, which already applied to Metrolink trams.
London’s TfL transport network already uses a ‘tap on, tap off’ system for the tube, buses, tram, and more.
Other cities that use ‘tap on, tap off’ as part of their transport systems include Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, York, Reading, Leicester, parts of North Wales (via Transport for Wales), Brighton & Hove, and more.
Always check with your local transport provider for specific details of their scheme before travelling.
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