Member Article

Go North East makes £1.6m contactless ticketing investment

Bus operator Go North East is hoping to drive up passenger numbers across its Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Tees Valley services after investing over £1.6m in contactless ticketing.

Effective as of this wednesday, the company revealed contactless payments can be made for single, return and day tickets on Visa and Mastercard, or via mobile using Apple Pay or Android Pay.

The investment is part of an ongoing programme of works by Go North East.

In February, it spent £1.6m on 10 new Wright Streetlite micro-hybrid buses for its Durham Diamond 16 and 16A services and £1.8m on 11 new buses for its no. 49 bus services which operates between Gateshead, Dunston, Metrocentre, Winlaton and Blaydon.

In June, it also announced a further £650,000 invested on refurbishing 36 vehicles, which included the introduction of five newly branded Blaydon Racer buses onto the roads of Newcastle, to mark the legendary fun run.

Kevin Carr, managing director of Go North East, said: “Studies released on bus travel show it is a third less stressful to commute by bus than car, is good for the local economy and encourages more daily exercise.

“And, we believe, by offering contactless payment options, non-bus users who were previously worried about having incorrect change or who were put off by the ticket-buying process, may be more inclined to just pop on the bus now.

“Contactless has already been trialed for a few weeks on our popular Q3 Quaylink service in Newcastle, to great local acclaim and now we’re excited to launch it across all our services, during the popular awareness week.

“This new fast, simple and secure way to pay means our passengers can travel hassle-free, without the worry of having change for the bus.”