People who use TfL’s own smartphone app will be able to view their contactless journey history following an upgrade expected to go live later this month.
The app currently enables customers to use their smartphone to add pay as you go credit or Travelcards to their Oyster card, with the credit coming live within 30 minutes of the top-up being applied.
Later this month, TfL will be releasing an update which will allow contactless customers to view their journey and payment history within the app.
In order to make use of the upgrade, regular contactless users who haven’t already done so will need to sign up for an online account so their cards will appear automatically in the app once the update is available.
Users of the smartphone app can also personalise their cards to make it easier to identify Apple Pay or different bank cards for example, as well as hide any cards that are no longer used. Once the account is personalised, the cards will automatically appear like this in the TfL app.
Having an online account with TfL also allows customers to see a summary of the cost of their travel, get email alerts if there’s an issue with their card as well as apply for refunds if they are delayed.
The free TfL app can be downloaded by searching ‘TfL Oyster’ in either the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The app will also show any Oyster cards which are associated with a TfL account so if the contactless card is not immediately seen you should swipe across to find your card.
Sign up for an online account at https://contactless.tfl.gov.uk
Since it launched in September 2017, more than 800,000 downloads of the app have already been made.
Following the introduction of contactless journey history into the app. TfL says that it will be looking at what other additional functionality it could introduce to the app. These could include the ability to add a contactless card within the app and better handling of Oyster refunds so customers can apply for them more quickly and easily. TfL is also working to make all the functions of the app, including being able to buy season tickets, available to concessions like Zip photocards and Student photocards in the future.
You mean all these 800000 people have handed over their card details for a much poorer service than those of us who haven’t? And no sweetener in the form of a discount either?
Yes, yes, I’m “obvs” a Luddite, but I am heartily fed up with waiting behind someone fumbling with their phone set up at the reader on the bus. Ditto EFTPOS whilst I’m having a winge.
Until the day when barriers are removed in favour of charging by facial recognition (didn’t you do sthg on this Ian?) and we have no choice, I shall swipe the Oyster, smile at the bus driver/station staff in their almost windowless hutches and dream of the days when the infant nanny state trusted us enough not to nanny us endlessly.
Outside of London. First Buses are now accepting contactless bank cards so you don’t have to pay with cash to buy a bus ticket. You just place your debit card with the contactless logo and you paid with your contactless card when travelling on any First bus routes. Which I find it quite worrying because I think its a cheek and its very risky. Luckily I got a bus pass so I travel for free.
Plus you can pay for your bus ticket via using Apple Pay Store and Google Play Store.
We don’t realise how much more efficient TFL is until venturing in places like Hertfordshire where buses still accept cash (!) and therefore spend more time standing at bus stops than actually driving.