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This summer, Östgötatrafiken introduced contactless payment, which means you can pay for a ticket by simply holding or placing the debit card in the card reader without entering your code when you continue.
At the beginning of the year, SL in Stockholm and Skånetrafiken were also hooked; now it may be Västtrafik’s turn.
– We want to make it even easier for our customers to buy a ticket. Contactless payments are already very common in society and are good for those who don’t know how to travel and how to buy a ticket, says Maria Björner Brauer, manager of the sales and marketing unit at Västtrafik.
On Friday, the board of directors of the public transport company made an investment decision to continue with plans to introduce contactless payment. However, it is not carved in stone yet.
Before they can continue, certain conditions must be met.
– We want to be able to use on-board card readers created for Västtrafikkortet. This proposal is based on the fact that readers can be used for bank card payments and they are not made for that. It requires a certification that bank card issuers require all systems that must handle bank card payments to submit, says Maria Björner Brauer.
Therefore, in order to proceed with the investment, it is necessary to be able to guarantee the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification. According to Maria Björner Brauer, they expect to receive an answer in a few weeks.
READ MORE: New Västtrafik App Feature – Predicts Congestion
Available only in zone A
It is primarily infrequent travelers, visitors and tourists who can benefit from the payment system.
– They don’t want to have to prepare, download an app and enter card details. Often there are people who want to do the right thing for themselves and pay, but we haven’t made it easy enough for them, says Maria Björner Brauer.
If Västtrafik continues with contactless payments, the system will first be available in zone A, ie Gothenburg, Mölndal, Partille and Öckerö.
– We intend to start to a certain point to see how it works first. Västtrafik is in a tight financial situation where we are very careful how we use our money. There is nothing to say that we will not implement it in other parts of our traffic if it works well, but we start here, says Maria Björner Brauer.
It has not yet been decided when the payment system could be operational.
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The old vending machines are retired
In the new system, it should be possible to buy one type of ticket: single ticket for adults, valid for 90 minutes.
Today, there are already ticket vending machines on board trams and boats where travelers can buy paper tickets. The new contactless system would mean they would be eliminated entirely.
In existing vending machines you can buy several different tickets, such as youth and 24 hours. Why change them to a system that only allows the purchase of a single adult ticket?
– Because it will cost too much with both. 90 percent of sales through onboard vending machines are for single-ticket adults, so that’s a large majority, says Maria Björner Brauer.
READ MORE: The winners and losers in the new Västtrafik areas
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