{"id":1061,"date":"2025-04-16T14:25:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T14:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/?p=1061"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:00:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:00:48","slug":"uk-city-introduces-new-5-ticket-system-on-buses-and-trams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/uk-city-introduces-new-5-ticket-system-on-buses-and-trams\/","title":{"rendered":"UK city introduces new \u00a35 ticket system on buses and trams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Contactless\t<\/div>
\u2018Tap on, tap off\u2019 already exists in several major UK cities (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edinburgh<\/a> will soon become the latest city to implement \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 technology<\/a> to allow smoother journeys across its transport system.<\/p>\n

Forget the days of scrambling around for the correct change or losing your paper ticket down the back of the seats, as the new system will allow for contactless payment<\/a>, hopefully reducing queuing, improving journey times and simplifying charges.<\/p>\n

While the city\u2019s Lothian Buses already operate a contactless system<\/a>, it will now also be used by Edinburgh\u2019s trams.<\/p>\n

This will enable travellers to \u2018mix and match\u2019 their journeys, with fares capped both daily and weekly.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
Edinburgh trams will soon become \u2018ToTo\u2019. (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

When will \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 be introduced for Edinburgh trams?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Edinburgh Trams has said that the system is now in its \u2018final stages of testing\u2019, and a launch date will be announced shortly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams\u2019 Managing Director, said:\u00a0\u2018The cutting-edge technology requires extensive testing before it becomes fully operational, but we are now just weeks away from it being rolled out across the network.<\/p>\n

\u2018When the system goes live, it will mark another milestone for Edinburgh Trams, the city, and its world-class public transport network.\u2019<\/p>\n

Daily fares will be capped at \u00a35 (regardless of whether you use trams or buses, or both), and weekly charges will max out at \u00a324.50. The weekly calculation will be refreshed every Monday.<\/p>\n

Failure to tap out after a tram journey will result in a charge of \u00a37.90, which will not be included in daily or weekly capping.<\/p>\n

How does \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 (ToTo) transport work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\"UK,\t<\/div>
It should make travel in Scottish capital even easier (Picture: Getty Images\/Westend61)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Negating the need for paper tickets, \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 integrated transport payment systems do exactly what they say on the tin. <\/p>\n

You \u2018tap on\u2019 at the beginning of your journey using a contactless debit card, smartwatch, or other contactless payment method.<\/p>\n

If this is a flat fare (like a single \u2018hopper\u2019 bus fare), this is factored into your maximum daily or weekly charge.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re taking a journey where the fare may vary by destination (such as by tram or train), you may have to \u2018tap off\u2019 at your journey\u2019s end, where the charge will be added.<\/p>\n

Overall payment is then calculated based on the cheapest fare for the number of journeys made and debited from the account, usually in the early hours of the following morning.<\/p>\n

As the system is integrated, charges can be capped, so you never pay more than a specific maximum, despite using multiple forms of transport to complete your journey.<\/p>\n

However, failure to \u2018tap out\u2019 at the end of a journey can result in a penalty fare being applied. You\u2019ll also need to touch in or out with the same card or device you used to begin your journey.<\/p>\n

Which cities already have \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 transport?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While Edinburgh\u2019s project is the first of its kind in Scotland, the contactless technology has already been implemented in cities across the UK, including Manchester, whose mayor, Andy Burnham, recently announced that Bee Network buses<\/a> would also be included in the \u2018tap-on, tap off\u2019 system, which already applied to Metrolink trams.<\/p>\n

London\u2019s TfL transport network already uses a \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 system for the tube, buses, tram, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"major\t<\/div>
Some of the locations around the UK that already have some form of \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 system. (Picture: Metro.co.uk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other cities that use \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 as part of their transport systems include Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, York, Reading, Leicester, parts of North Wales (via Transport for Wales), Brighton & Hove, and more.<\/p>\n

Always check with your local transport provider for specific details of their scheme before travelling.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Tap on, tap off\u2019 already exists in several major UK cities (Picture: Getty Images) Edinburgh will soon become the latest city to implement \u2018tap on, tap off\u2019 technology to allow smoother journeys across its transport system. Forget the days of scrambling around for the correct change or losing your paper ticket down the back of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1061"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1068,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061\/revisions\/1068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}