Get on board for hi-tech teen ticket

First Bus customer paying via m-ticket app.

BUS operator First Manchester has launched a new initiative across the region that helps parents buy mobile bus tickets for their children.

It allows tickets to be transferred directly onto a child's phone, removing the need to store credit or debit card details on a young person's mobile.

The First Bus mTickets app allows customers to buy and load bus tickets onto their phone, but until recently, young people without a credit or debit card have only been able to purchase mobile tickets by using an adult's card.

As about 90 per cent of 11- to 16-year-olds have a mobile phone, First Manchester has therefore adapted its mTickets app so that it is now more broadly accessible to young people.

The new option on the mTickets app can also help to put parents' minds at ease.

Phil Medlicott, managing director at First Manchester, said: "Our aim with this change is to ensure that all customers have access to the benefits of using our mTickets app, as well as helping to put parents' minds at ease. The update to the mTickets app means that once a parent or guardian has purchased a child bus daily or weekly ticket through the mTickets app, then they will then have the ability to transfer that ticket to their child. This means that children will not need to carry cash with them throughout the day in order to purchase a bus ticket - so there'll be no risk of children losing their bus money!"

Research from First Bus found that if enough passengers make the switch to mTickets, boarding times would be so much quicker that average journey times would reduce, despite the ever increasing congestion on the roads.

The mTickets app is easy to use and is available for free via the App Store and Google Play. Customers simply download the app, register, select from a variety of tickets, and navigate the secure payment system.

To find out more about the First Bus mTickets app, visit https://www.firstgroup.com/buy-ticket/mtickets-faqs.