Cubic and TfL’s Payment Integration System Completes One Billionth Contactless Journey
Cubic Transportation Systems has announced a successful milestone with partner Transport for London of reaching one billion pay-as-you-go journeys using contactless bankcard and mobile payments across London’s transportation network. Launched in 2012, Cubic and TfL’s successful payment system, which continues to revolutionize mobility in London, is set to see the technology adapted and expanded to additional cities and transform their transportation networks in the future.
According to TfL-released figures, an average of two million journeys is completed using contactless payments each day. Since 2016, the proportion of people using contactless technology to pay-as-you-go around London has grown by 25 percent to 40 percent, signifying a monumental change in how travelers pay for their journeys. Additionally, nine percent of transactions now take place through mobile devices, with more than 31 million verified mobile phone payments in the last year alone.
Contactless payment is the first step in a long-term strategy for improving global transport networks. Through continued innovation since its introduction to London’s transportation system in 2012, Cubic is now exploring the potential for contactless payment in cities across the globe, including Miami, Florida; Sydney and Brisbane, Australia; Boston, Massachusetts; and San Francisco, California. In July 2016, a £15 million deal granted Cubic the right to adapt the system and combine it with its payment systems. Lastly, on July 6, Cubic and Transport for New South Wales launched Australia’s first open payment trial on the popular Manly Ferry Service.
“Our partnership with TfL has helped put London at center stage among the world’s most technologically advanced travel payment systems,” said Matt Cole, president of Cubic Transportation Systems. “We take pride in both the contactless public transit experience leading to the billionth pay-as-you-go transaction, as well as our collaboration with TfL to take the technology to other leading systems worldwide.”
“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,” said Shashi Verma, chief technology officer at TfL. “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. We’re committed to continue developing and expanding the system where we can to make it even more convenient for anyone visiting London.”
The payment system has been expanded under the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s “Hopper” initiative, which offers commuters free secondary bus or tram journeys within one hour of their first. In 2018, this will be further expanded to allow unlimited bus and trams journeys within an hour – giving Londoners the advantage of more affordable travel for longer journeys around the city.
The London contactless system has garnered nine industry awards for Cubic and TfL since 2015, including the London First Award for Innovation.
