The contactless payment rollout on Stagecoach bus services has reached Manchester.
The March 1 launch in the city is part of a £12m UK-wide investment by Stagecoach into delivering contactless technology. As well as paying via contactless credit and debit cards, customers can also use Apple Pay and Android Pay to buy their ticket from the driver.
Managing Director of Stagecoach Manchester, Elisabeth Tasker, said: “The introduction of contactless technology is further evidence of the transformation that bus travel is currently undergoing.
“Ensuring that our customers are receiving the most efficient and hassle-free service is our priority at Stagecoach Manchester and this will allow customers to pay for their tickets more easily than ever before.
“However, the delivery of high-quality bus services is a shared responsibility and, although we are investing heavily in customer improvements in the areas we can control, there is one key issue that is holding buses back and damaging air quality and that is traffic congestion.
“Manchester is now the most congested city in the UK after London and Public Health England estimates that around 1,000 people die every year in Greater Manchester because of increasingly poor air quality.
“Congestion on our roads slows down journeys, pushes up fares, damages public health and undermines the work of operators to deliver improvements and attract more people to bus travel. We need politicians to step up.”
