Tap and go payment coming to Cork City buses by October to speed up boarding times
The second biggest source of bus delays, after traffic congestion, is the payment process at bus stops.
Tap and go technology to help fast-track the passenger boarding and payment process on Cork’s suburban bus network should be installed on the city’s fleet by October.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) provided the timeline in response to a question from Labour city councillor, Peter Horgan, chair of the council’s transport committee.
“This is a positive step in only one small measure in improving passenger interaction with the public bus network,” he said.
The second biggest source of bus delays, after traffic congestion, is the payment process at bus stops where payment by cash is still commonplace.
Currently, all bus passengers on Cork city services have to go to the bus driver to pay for their bus journey, whether by cash or by Leap card.
This requirement for all passengers to interact with the bus driver adds considerably to boarding time on buses and lengthens overall bus journey times, the NTA has said.
The reported in February how the NTA had begun installing Leap card validators on buses to allow passengers pay for their journey without interacting with the bus driver, and in just a fraction of the time required today.
The validators are being installed on an entry pole at the front door of each bus.
The NTA has confirmed that the entire fleet should be fitted with the devices by the end of the third quarter of the year.
“This provision will allow boarding passengers to just tap their Leap card on the validator upon entry without having to go to the driver, substantially speeding up boarding times on buses,” the NTA said.
Mr Horgan said based on predicted timelines, the technology will be in place in time for the start of the new school year.
“We have to ensure this is achieved for those looking to ditch the car and to reduce congestion across the city and suburbs,” he said.
The installation of the ‘tap and go’ technology will also enable the introduction of a similar fare to the 90-minute fare operating in Dublin but the NTA said "an exact implementation date" has not yet been decided.
The ‘tap and go’ scheme is one of the key elements of the overall BusConnects Cork project which is designed to modernise and improve the city’s suburban bus service.
BusConnects also includes a new bus network and timetable, both of which have been published but not yet introduced, a new fares structure and 11 new sustainable transport corridors (STCs), or super bus lanes, which have been designed but which have yet to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala for planning approval.
