Passengers can now use Tap On, Tap Off (TOTO) for journeys on the Brighton & Hove and Metrobus networks, replacing the need to buy a paper ticket. Most customers previously buying return tickets from the driver can now use their contactless bank card to pay the fare instead of buying a paper ticket, which the operators says will mean more flexibility for customers as they will no longer have unused returns if they change their mind about their journey. Boarding time is also reduced as tickets don’t have to be issued and the user is charged the same price as if they had bought a paper return ticket.
It also means that no matter how many bus journeys customers make in one day they will never pay more than the price of a day ticket for the area they are travelling in, with charges capped at the cost of a CitySaver or NetworkSaver in Brighton & Hove or a Metrorider or Metrovoyager ticket on the Metrobus network.
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus Managing Director Martin Harris said: “Around two-thirds of customers paying by contactless are now using TOTO but we’d like this to be higher. It’s more convenient for our passengers and it speeds up boarding. The automatic daily cap means you can make as many journeys as you like and never pay more than the day ticket for the area you’re travelling in, without having to think about it. Because it is not possible to set up every one of the thousands of return journeys you can take on our network, we have prioritised the journeys that are most frequently made. The changes mean that around 85% of the most popular adult return Brighton & Hove fares, and almost two-thirds of the most popular adult return Metrobus fares, can now be paid for using TOTO.”
