Preston Bus introduces mobile ticketing

Rotala-owned Preston Bus has released its m-Tickets app for all of its services.
Passengers can download the Preston Bus app on an Apple or Android smartphone by searching ‘Preston Bus m-Ticket’ in the appropriate app store. They will then be able to choose from a range of tickets which the company offers; including daily, weekly and 28-day tickets, which are paid for using a credit or debit card.
The virtual tickets will be stored on the passenger’s phone and can be shown to the driver when boarding.
The application has been designed to remove passengers’ reliance on the existing ‘exact change only’ fare policy at Preston Bus, which the operator admitted can cause frustration and delays due to fumbling for the right change at boarding time.
The deployment of Masabi’s JustRide mobile ticketing platform was announced at Euro Bus Expo and is part of a strategy to maintain fast boarding times and improve customer service.
The operator claimed mobile ticketing can speed up boarding time by up to nine seconds per passenger, which will benefit all passengers, whether they use mobile ticketing or not, as journey times around the city should be reduced.
While Preston Bus will continue to accept cash from passengers as required, with the introduction of mobile ticketing the company hopes to be able to reduce bus dwell time by as much as 50% by 2020.