When people in the ’50s imagined the new millennium, they hoped for flying cars and holidays to the moon. They wished for the stars but failed to imagine the most significant innovation of our day: contactless transactions. We didn’t make it to space, but god did we master convenience. And this convenient mode of payment is coming to loads more train stations in Britain.
Transport minister Huw Merriman announced that 90 stations throughout the West Midlands and Greater Manchester will be trialling a tap-in-tap-out system from 2025. The pay-as-you-go method is already used in London and by most bus services across Britain.
The move is being partly funded by the money saved from scrapping HS2, which is a completely even trade according to Londoners who’ve only ever ventured as far north as Cambridge.
The tap and go system will simplify ticket-buying, which customers often complain about being confusing. If a success, the trial will be integrated into all travel across West Midlands, including trams, buses and even e-bikes.
According to the Merriman, the trial will ‘encourage more people back onto our trains, with tap-in technology meaning using our stations couldn’t be easier.’ West Midlands mayor Andy Street also voiced support for the scheme, describing it as bringing transport ‘much closer to a London Oyster card-style system.’
Plans have also been made to roll out a similar trial in the south east later on this year. Find out more about that here.
Did you see that a brand-new rail route could soon launch between London and the Midlands?
Plus: This British train journey is officially one of the most scenic in the world.
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