Public transport passengers in Edinburgh are moving towards getting a London-style ticketing solution with the final tests underway on a new ‘Tap on, Tap off’ payment system on the city’s trams.
Edinburgh Trams will announce the launch date shortly for the new system, which is developed in collaboration with payment provider Flowbird, and marks the first project of its kind in Scotland. ‘Tap on, Tap off’ or ‘ToTo’ will ensure that customers only ever pay the best-value adult daily fare while enjoying seamless integration with Lothian Bus Services.
Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams’ Managing Director, said: “Following the successful launch of services to Newhaven in 2023, we’re continuing to invest in technology to make trams an even more attractive proposition for both residents and visitors.
“This has included the replacement of 10-year-old tram stop validators to enable contactless cards to be securely accepted, and new hand-held devices for our staff to check that customers have ‘tapped on’ before boarding.”
Like the contactless payments already accepted in the city by Lothian Buses, the new system calculates the cheapest fare based on the number of journeys made and then debits the card in the early hours of the following morning. There is also a weekly cap based on the number of trips taken over a seven-day, Monday to Sunday, period. These caps will work in conjunction with the bus operator, meaning that caps will apply across Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams services, ensuring that customers no longer need to purchase a day ticket from the bus driver or the tram stop ticket machine.
Unlike on the buses, however, customers will need to ‘tap off’ when using the tram using the platform validator when they reach their destination. This makes sure they will only pay for travel on sections of the tramway they have actually used.
(Picture – Edinburgh Trams)
