Public transport and contactless payments
The established rise in the prevalence of digital payments has affected every aspect of life - including public transport, an economic and social lifeline for many. And like so many businesses, transport operators have been swiftly introducing digital payments to draw in more passengers and improve the overall travel experience.
According to Visa's second annual Future of Urban Mobility Survey1, in the U.K., nearly a third of adults now use public transit as their primary form of urban transportation, with more than half using it to get to work and for leisure activities. The figures are similar for France and Italy.
New Transit Systems Launched
In the second quarter of this year alone, Visa and its transit partners rolled out 50 new projects worldwide, from Thailand and Japan to Mexico and beyond. A pilot in Izmir, Turkey, for example, has enabled passengers to pay with contactless domestic and foreign credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards for the first time.
Just under half of adults in the U.K, France and Italy meanwhile, are already using contactless pay as you go with an existing debit or credit card or mobile device - with well over half in the U.K saying they now expect contactless to be offered as a payment option. This is a trend that Visa expects to accelerate, with the survey2 finding that customers saw big advantages to the technology. In the same European sample, the majority of respondents cited convenience and time saving as the primary benefits of using contactless.
Other benefits cited by passengers include the fact that there's no need to carry cash, reduction of contact with surfaces and ease of record keeping3. Virtually nobody felt there were no advantages to contactless - just three per cent in the U.K., five per cent in Italy and eight per cent in France. And this move to contactless is opening up new payment options for customers. There's a trend, for example, towards fare-capping, which sets a limit on the amount a passenger has to pay in total for a day, week or month.
This means customers not only don't have to tie up their cash on a monthly pass but can board faster and more easily too. And it's popular - over half of passengers in the U.K. say they’d use public transport more often if fare-capping were an option.
Sustainability Concerns
And this matters. As the climate crisis bites, there's a pressing need to increase the use of public transit around the world. During the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow last November, a global coalition of mayors, transport unions, workers and authorities warned that limiting climate change to a 1.5C temperature rise would require a doubling of public transport journeys in cities by 20304.
The issue is a major concern for passengers too. Globally, 88 per cent of people in our survey said sustainability factored into their decision to use public transit - with less than 15 per cent responding it did not influence their decision making.
Steve Orelowitz, Head of Urban Mobility for Visa in Europe said, "contactless payments were already becoming the gold standard for public transport in Europe before the pandemic. As cities come back to life and new forms of micro-mobility join the mix we see more interest in implementing these systems that help locals and tourists alike move with more confidence around a city. ”
As transit passengers become accustomed to digital payments, there are benefits for others as well. The 'halo effect' sees them using the same Visa credentials for other purchases too - transporting merchants, acquirers and issuers, as well as card users themselves, into a more convenient and efficient future.
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1 Visa’s “Future of Urban Mobility” survey: May 2022 (conducted by Wakefield Research among 11,550 adults who take public transportation in 14 markets: U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, U.K., South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2022/07/11/reshaping-urban-mobility-1657576526410.html
2 Visa’s “Future of Urban Mobility” survey: May 2022 (conducted by Wakefield Research among 11,550 adults who take public transportation in 14 markets: U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, U.K., South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2022/07/11/reshaping-urban-mobility-1657576526410.html
3 Visa’s “Future of Urban Mobility” survey: May 2022 (conducted by Wakefield Research among 11,550 adults who take public transportation in 14 markets: U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, U.K., South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2022/07/11/reshaping-urban-mobility-1657576526410.html
4 Public transport global coalition statement: November 2021 https://www.c40.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Global-coalition-statement-ENG.pdf
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