The journey towards a fully contactless ticketing system among private bus and coach operators in Ireland has taken a significant step forward in Dublin thanks to smart ticketing provider TransMach. In what it says is a major first for the business, which has supported private operators in Ireland for over eight years, the city’s prepaid Transport for Ireland Leap Card is now compatible with TransMach’s on-bus smart ticketing machines. Dublin Coach and JJ Kavanagh & Sons have become the first operators to roll out the upgrade onto their fleets.
As well as enabling faster boarding by ‘tapping on’ using Leap cards or contactless debit or credit cards or a smartphone payment app, TransMach’s collaboration with Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) means that private operators only need a single system to validate all ticket types. Previously, a separate machine was necessary for validating Leap cards. In addition, TransMach has worked with the NTA to validate contactless journeys made with Ireland’s Young Adult Card, which entitle the holder to a 50% discount on ticket prices for services across Ireland.
Commenting on the project, which was officially announced at the recent Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC) Show in Dublin TransMach’s Director Minesh Vandra said: “Our mission is to enable 100% contactless travel, which will not only encourage more consumers to switch to public transport, thereby increasing revenues for operators but also helping to reduce their costs, by having just one seamless ticketing and reporting system. We are delighted to have launched this integration with Dublin Coach and JJ Kavanagh & Sons and are grateful to the support of the NTA in making this advancement possible, which we expect will attract new private operators to the benefits of switching.”
Bernard Higgins, Director of Transport Technology for the NTA, added: “The National Transport Authority is delighted to support Transmach in its journey to become a Leap compliant ticketing solution supplier. We look forward to working with Transmach-enabled bus operators to provide Leap services to the travelling public.”
