£550k loan approved for Blackpool's new contactless ticketing system
Councillors have approved a £550,000 loan to Blackpool Transport to help fund a £750,000 new contactless ticketing system.
The council’s executive agreed a recommendation after hearing the new system would modernise the fleet and offer “a more convenient way to pay for an increasing proportion of service users. ”
The technology has been fitted on all Blackpool Transport’s fleet of around 115 buses with plans to install it on the trams this summer.
Passengers can still pay using cash, but the contactless system means they can use bank cards or other device such as their phones.
There is also a ‘Tap & Go’ facility, similar to London’s Oyster card, whereby people tap their card or contactless device when boarding, tap with the same device when exiting, and they will be automatically charged the correct fare for their journey.
The loan is from the council’s £200m business loans fund aimed at supporting economic growth in the town.