Best value bus fares now on tap as cards keep track of your travels
ARRIVA bus passengers are now benefiting from the Tap On-Tap Off (TOTO) scheme which ensures a cap on fares.
This enables travellers to track their spending through contactless payments.
Following the successful rollout of contactless payment onboard all Arriva buses in 2019, the firm has worked in partnership with Leicester City Council to install a second contactless card reader across their entire fleet of over 170 buses connecting Leicestershire, Rugby, Nuneaton, Bedworth and Coventry.
A spokesperson said: “The idea is simple - tap on using a credit/debit card or with Google Pay or Apple Pay on your driver’s ticket machine when you board your bus, then tap again on the second card reader as you get off, and we’ll work out the best value fare for you.
“If it’s cheapest for you to pay for a single, day or weekly ticket, we’ll cap the price you pay at whatever is the right fare for the journeys you’ve made. Customers can travel freely and are automatically charged for the journey that they make.
“If customers make several trips in one day, their fare will be capped at the daily ticket price; and those who travel several days a week pay a fare capped at the weekly ticket price.
“Removing the need to state your destination and pay as you board will significantly reduce boarding times for customers, ensuring that buses leave stops on time and maintain punctuality. Just remember to say hello to the driver as you board!” Andrew Godley, commercial director at Arriva, said: “The Tap On-Tap Off scheme makes bus journeys simpler giving customers peace of mind knowing they will be charged the best value fare, whether they make a single journey or multiple journeys.
“This new way to pay will benefit customers not only in Leicester, where a successful partnership with the city council has funded the onboard technology, but right across our network serving Leicestershire, parts of Warwickshire, and into the West Midlands.”
Bill Cullen, chief executive of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “We have worked closely with the senior team at Arriva on a range of innovative projects to improve bus transport and accessibility for communities in the borough over a number of years.
“This new ticketing initiative will further improve the service for customers who use and rely on these important bus services.”
Stuart Bray, leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “I welcome this tap on/tap off initiative which aims to provide value for our residents and other users of these important bus services operated by Arriva in the borough.
“It’s great to see local operators such as Arriva continuing to enhance the service and experience for customers.”
Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, county council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We’re fully supportive of this Arriva initiative. Schemes such as this, which make public transport more accessible to people because of the ease of using contactless technology, have to be welcomed.
“It also supports wider efforts across the county and city to attract people back on to public transport following the pandemic, as well as supporting our wider work to reduce emissions and become a net zero county by 2045.”
If it’s cheapest for you to pay for a single, day or weekly ticket, we’ll cap the price you pay at whatever is the right fare for the journeys you’ve made.