South East rail passengers on track to see Pay As You Go ticketing at 53 more stations across region
Rail passengers across the South East are set to see an expansion of Pay As You Go ticketing as the contactless system will be rolled out to a further 53 stations in the region by the end of 2023.
The latest £20 million of government funding marks the first phase of its commitment to extend the 'tap-in tap-out' system to a further 200 stations in the South East. It will see the total number of stations with the technology in England rise to more than 400 by the end of the year.
The announcement was made in partnership with Transport for London (TfL), C2C, Southeastern, South Western Railway, London Northwestern, and Chiltern.
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The system is already available at over 350 stations across London and the South East stretching from Reading and Gatwick Airport to Shenfield and Welwyn Garden City.
Shashi Verma, chief technology officer at TfL said the move would help rail travellers outside London to do so more flexibly and conveniently, and support the wider UK economic recovery.
"The popularity of convenient travel via a Pay As You Go system has seen it expand and become increasingly popular across London and the surrounding areas in recent years."
Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, added: "The introduction of contactless, Pay As You Go payments is a significant step in the right direction.
"It eliminates the need to queue at ticket machines or pre-book paper tickets, allowing passengers to simply tap their contactless cards or devices to pay for their journey. We believe that embracing contactless technology will enhance the overall passenger experience and contribute to a more seamless journey on our network."
The government's rail minister Huw Merriman said: "By removing the stress of finding the best deal in advance or having the right ticket ready to go at the barriers, the extension of tap-in tap-out ticketing is the next step of our plan for rail reform and we’re working towards Pay As You Go being rolled out beyond the South East through the Midlands and up to the North."
Among the 53 stations poised to receive the new technology before the end of the year include Basildon, Bletchley, Denham, Egham, Leighton Buzzard, Shepperton, Staines, Tring and Windsor & Eton Riverside.
TfL data shows that more than 75% of all Tube and rail Pay As You Go journeys are regularly made using contactless payment cards or mobile devices, compared to 25% in 2016.
The department for Transport is continuing its work with the GBR transition team to extend Pay As You Go in the Midlands and the North, as part of Trailblazer devolution deals announced earlier this year with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
