Contactless Payment: The future of public transportation

When it comes to moving forward, what type of payment structure can customers count on from public transportation?

For more than 150 years, local and long-distance public transportation has become an integral part of the infrastructure of almost every country in the world. Driven by industrialization and numerous technical innovations, increasingly sophisticated subways, trams and buses create a virtual network that connects all parts of city centers with urban areas on the outskirts. Major cities would collapse without subways and buses, as more and more people depend on these safe, fast and reliable methods of transport.

In order to ensure that the efficiency of the public transport system is maintained in the future, there are innovations emerging beyond the actual physical infrastructure of these systems, including regarding new styles of payment, in particular, electronic and mobile ticketing.

The future for some is now

In many parts of the world, the future of public transportation has already become reality. Cities like New York, London and Tokyo are leading the way with these new types of digital or contactless ticketing. Anyone boarding a bus or train in these cities can swipe their credit card or payment app on their mobile phone over a corresponding sensor in the station or on the bus. Waiting in front of ticket machines is no longer necessary, nor is fumbling for small change.