Double quick boarding thanks to new bus app

First Bus customer paying via m-Ticket app

RESEARCH shows bus boarding times would be 75 per cent faster if customers paid for tickets via their mobile phone.

Local bus operator, First Manchester, has highlighted the findings in the launch of a major campaign to raise awareness of how it's transforming customer experiences through innovative new technology.

It's promising customers speedier bus journeys, if passengers switch from paying fares by cash to paying via its mTickets app, which enables customers to use their mobile phones as bus tickets.

The company made the promise after a demonstration to compare the time it takes to board 50 people onto a bus with customers paying by cash versus customers using mTickets. The results showed 50 cash customers took 10.5 minutes, while 50 customers using their smartphones took 2.5 minutes - an eight-minute reduction, some 75 per cent.

First Manchester said that if enough passengers make the switch, boarding times would become so much quicker that average journey times would reduce, despite the ever increasing congestion on the roads.

Head of commercial at First Manchester, Ian Humphreys, said: "Our research has demonstrated that converting customers from cash to mTickets or other forms of smart ticketing has a huge impact on boarding times, and will help us in the battle to speed up the bus, despite the very stark congestion issues that we face.

"We are determined to transform the experience for all our customers and I am delighted that technology is now able to deliver so many benefits for our passengers.

"The combination of journey planning, free wi-fi, real time information and mTickets, really does make the bus an increasingly attractive option for so many journey needs."

The 'catch the bus with less fuss' campaign raises awareness of a range of simple to use technology that is helping First Manchester transform bus journeys. Key technology available for customers to use includes:

• First Travel app, which allows customers to track in real time the progress of their service and therefore arrive at the bus stop when the bus does.

• First mTicket app, which allows customers to purchase tickets 24/7. Passengers simply activate their ticket when the bus arrives and show the driver their ticket displayed on their mobile phone screens.

•Free on board wi-fi, now available on around 60 per cent of First Bus vehicles.

The Journey Planner facility which allows customers to plan their journeys, across all modes of public transport, not just First Bus services.

For more information about the technology that is helping customers use the bus, visitfirstgroup.com/about-us/get-bus-less-fuss.

You can also visit bit.ly/speedy-boarding to view the m-ticket versus cash research video, carried out by First Bus.