Citylink has become the first national coach operator to roll out contactless across all its fleet.
Four million passengers a year are set to benefit from contactless along with Apple Pay and Android Pay.
A further 1,500 buses operating local Stagecoach services across Scotland are to offer the payment method by late summer 2018.
Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf backs £12m business-wide investment by Stagecoach across the UK to enable passengers to pay for travel using contactless, Apple Pay and Android Pay.
Passengers were met at Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus station by Mr Yousaf and Citylink’s Operations Director Peter Knight, on Monday (18 December).
Scottish Citylink is a joint venture between Stagecoach and international transport group ComfortDelGro.
Scottish Citylink Operations Director Peter Knight says: “We are now the first national coach provider to have contactless payments available across all of our fleet. This is great news for passengers who want to be able to turn up and pay quickly and easily.
“Along with traditional cash payments, and online purchases, we are giving customers choice about how they want to buy their travel and making it even easier and more convenient to travel by bus. We look forward to introducing this technology to the rest of our passengers in Scotland.”
Stagecoach has outlined its intention to deliver contactless payments for passengers at all of its UK companies by the end of 2018, with all Scottish companies expected to be live with the technology by late summer next year.
Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands said: “The Scottish Government is committed to making public transport easier to access, through new payment and ticketing options, bringing with this benefits for passengers while encouraging more people to opt for public transport on a regular basis.
“As one of Scotland’s largest operators, Stagecoach has laid out ambitious plans to be at the forefront of smart ticketing and payment services. That is why it’s great to see Citylink launch their contactless payment service, which can be used on all of their coach services across Scotland. I look forward to seeing further delivery of Stagecoach’s contactless products across the country.”
Contactless technology – which involves customers using their debit or credit card, or any other contactless device, to make a ‘wave and pay’ payment rather than a pin number – was introduced in the UK in 2007. During April 2017 416.3m contactless transactions were made.
The company’s contactless scheme is one of Visa’s fastest growing transit contactless schemes in Europe.
Citylink accepts VISA and MasterCard on board all of its services.
Michael Lemberger, head of products at Visa in Europe said: "Visa is working with companies to make the transportation experience faster, easier and more secure whether someone is traveling by coach on holiday or taking public transportation to work.
“We are delighted that customers using Citylink can now experience all the benefits of contactless to pay for their travel across Scotland.”
