Bus Travel Takes major Step Forward With Launch of Bath M-Ticketing

Bus users throughout Bath and its surrounding areas can now use their smartphones to pay for bus travel in the area.

Operator First West of England has rolled out its M-Ticketing app for adult bus users, having previously trialled it with students in Bath and Bristol.

Since Monday the 12th of January, adult bus users across the city have been able to conveniently purchase day, week, month and year tickets on their phones, and storing them on their devices until they are ready to use them.

This means that bus travellers’ smartphones are now an even more useful tool, offering up a way to pay for bus travel, as well as being used for making phone calls, taking photos, sending emails and web browsing on the go.

First’s M-ticketing app even allows users to pay for tickets using Barclays' Pingit application (a quick, easy, and safe way of pay for ing things while not needing to share your account information). By working with Barclays in this way, Firstgroup is now the first nationwide public transport company to offer Pingit as a mobile payment option.

Once purchased M-Tickets are stored in a virtual wallet on the phone until the person wants to use them.

To help customers get a handle on this new technology, First is running a roadshow in Bath Bus Station on Friday the 16th of January, between 11am and 4.30pm, to highlight the availability of the M-Ticketing app, and the ease with which it can be used to buy their bus tickets.

Talking about this new payment method, First West of England Managing Director, James Freeman says: “This is great news for local people, and particularly those who want to reduce the amount of things they have to carry around with them.  

“Mobile ticketing is safe and secure and offers people a really convenient and easy way to pay for their bus travel.

“It is a great step forward for bus users, giving them even more choice over how they pay for their travel.   Combined with all the other things that we’ve been doing – for instance investing in new buses and adding free WiFi – developments like this are helping to make travelling by bus even more attractive.

“Our partnership with Barclays also puts First at the forefront of bus ticketing technology, and reflects our commitment to grasp ever more innovative ways to make bus travel better, easier and more convenient.”

M-ticketing is not designed to completely phase out the other existing means of buying a ticket but instead it’s intended to complement existing methods of payment.  You'll still be able to get on the bus and purchase a ticket using the conventional method – paying with cash cash. Tickets can also still be obtained via a travel shop or ticket agent like a PayPoint outlet, online through E-tickets, or on a Touchcard (in Bristol), but for those who want to utilise the technology they have whilst reducing the need to carry additional things around with them, then m-ticketing offers a perfect solution.

Using M-ticketing is very simple, you:

• Download the free First mobile ticketing app onto your phone
• Register your details
• Choose which ticket you’d like to buy from a range of options.  
• Buy your ticket, storing it on your phone until you’re ready to use it
• Activate your ticket just before you plan to use it (before you board the bus, so you don’t delay the service)
• Show the driver the ticket on your phone as you get on board, and away you go.    

While an internet connection is needed at the point of purchase, once tickets are downloaded onto the phone the user does not need an internet connection to make the ticket work. Hiwever, they do need to ensure that their phone battery is sufficiently charged to ensure that the ticket can be shown to the driver, and a ticket inspector if one asks to see it.  

Each mobile ticket has a multitude of embedded security features within it – which drivers have been trained to look out for.  

The following adult tickets are now available to buy as M-Tickets in the West of England:

• Bath Inner zone: either a carnet of five day tickets, a carnet of 10 single tickets (otherwise known as a 10Journey ticket), a week ticket or a month ticket
• Bath Outer zone: either a carnet of five day tickets, a carnet of 10 single tickets (otherwise known as a 10Journey ticket), a week ticket or a month ticket
• Bristol Inner zone: either a carnet of five day tickets, a week ticket or a month ticket
• Bristol Outer zone: either a carnet of five day tickets, a carnet of 10 single tickets (otherwise known as a 10Journey ticket), a week ticket or a month ticket
• Weston-super-Mare: either a carnet of five day tickets, a carnet of 10 single tickets (otherwise known as a 10Journey ticket), a week ticket or a month ticket
• West of England: either a carnet of five day tickets, a week ticket or a month ticket

Tickets are the same price via the m-ticketing app as they are in other forms. Child and young person versions of the M-ticketing app are not available at this time, but will be added in the coming months.  

More information about First’s M-ticketing app can be found at: www.firstgroup.com/m-tickets

More information about First West of England or to view/download local timetable information, please visit www.firstgroup.com/bath