There is nothing worse than a busy Monday morning commute to work. Thousands of people crowded into tube stations in London, tram platforms spilling over with workers in Manchester and, of course, the traditional fight for a seat on the bus in Glasgow.
The only way things can get any worse is by forgetting to buy your ticket and being told off by a grumpy ticket inspector – something which happens on a frighteningly regular basis to a great many commercial property workers in the UK.
However, with a new app that can be downloaded directly onto your smart phone, all this could be about to change.
Everything Everywhere mobile phone company, which covers users of Orange and T Mobile phone servers, has developed a “Quick Tap” service in partnership with Barclaycard. It effectively allows users of the app to turn their smart phone into a “smart ticket”, paying for one or multiple journeys on their mobile, then simply tapping it into a terminal on the bus or railway station commercial property platform.
In principle, the concept is similar to that of an Oyster Card, an essential tool for most Londoners. However, by incorporating the method into a mobile phone, commuters will have one less thing to worry about when leaving home to get to their workplace.
Gerry McQuade, chief marketing officer at Everything Everywhere, says; “We’ve already started a new movement in the way we make payments and receive retail rewards on the high street, so this really is the next step – providing customers with additional simplicity and convenience to help improve their public transport experience.”
The scheme is already being trialled to great success in Cambridgeshire, after Everything Everywhere signed a contract with commercial property bus company Stagecoach. In fact, it has proven so successful that the partnership hope to have the payment method available on all Stagecoach services in the UK by next year.
Mr McQuade added; “As Britain’s biggest communication company, we’re proud to be working with Stagecoach to help bring public transport ticketing into the 21st century and start a trend towards a future where ultimately the traditional paper and card tickets of today will eventually become a thing of the past.”
Martin Griffiths, Finance Director of the Stagecoach Group, was also quick to praise the app. He said; “This is an exciting technical trial which we believe is the first of its kind in the UK and we are pleased to be working with Everything Everywhere to explore the use of this new technology.
“Smart phones are playing an increasingly important role in helping people manage their busy lifestyles and are already used across many areas of life.
“We believe this technology can also make public transport easier and more convenient to use. Once this trial is complete, we will carry out a review of the findings and assess the potential to expand the scheme further for our passengers.”
Would you prefer to use your smart phone to make your commute to your commercial property workplace easier? Or do you believe this new initiative is a step too far in modernising the British way of life?
