Smart ticketing – contactless payment for rail – summary report

15 December 2014

Contactless payment is increasingly being used to pay for low-value items and a replacement for cash. It was introduced on buses in London in 2012 and is now being introduced on the entire TfL network. This report explores passengers’ views of using it on rail to inform a potential pilot scheme. 

We carried out a series of one-to-one and focus group discussions with both passengers already using smart cards and those who don’t. We asked about their current usage of, and attitudes towards, ticket purchasing and contactless payment.

We found that rail passengers see the use of contactless payment cards as a good way of avoiding wasting time queuing at ticket offices or ticket vending machines, having to pay by cash for paper tickets, and potentially enabling them to get better ticket options. 

This is the summary report – the full slide pack can be found here.