Uno Buses go contactless

Uno Buses, along with the University of Northampton, officially launched contactless payments across all their bus services yesterday – the first operator to go live in Northampton.

Customers no longer need to give ‘carrying the right cash’ a second thought, they can simply tap their bank card and off they go. Contactless is live on both the Violet 19 service and route 21.

It also means students and residents can use Apple and Android pay to buy their tickets.

Last October £1.5m was invested in the new Violet buses, eight environmentally friendly vehicles with free super-fast wifi and USB charging points. The new contactless payments have been described as ‘the icing on the cake’.

Jim Thorpe, Managing Director for Uno Buses, said: “This is a great development for us here at Uno, we know our customers want convenience and contactless makes bus travel that little bit easier. It’s also a great way to encourage more and more people to join us onboard, especially for those who don’t travel with us regularly. Not to mention making boarding times faster particularly at those busy times.”

“As part of the launch event yesterday we carried out a time trial with 6 students boarding the bus paying with cash, and 6 students using their contactless bank cards. No surprises, it was almost 30% faster.”

David Lewis, Vice President: Union Development for the Students’ Union, said: “The introduction of contactless payment is a fantastic addition to the Uno buses fleet that will make boarding an even faster process for everyone. Alongside the implementation of free wifi and USB charging points earlier this academic year our students benefit from a truly modern travel experience.’