Apple Pay Express Transit Coming to London 'in the Coming Months'

[Reason077]

What’s wrong with Oyster?

Lots of things.

- High cost to TfL of administering the system.
- Huge amount of outstanding credit loaded onto lost/forgotten Oyster cards (although arguably this benefits TfL, they have to list it a liability on their balance sheet)
- Delays and queues at ticket machines to top up Oyster cards
- Oyster cards are easy to drop/lose
- Delays at ticket gates with people fumbling around to find Oyster card.
- etc
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I would much rather they have made Oyster Card into Apple Pay.

The only benefit to this would be the ability to load monthly and annual passes, or concessions such as a child pass or gold card on to your device rather than having to carry the physical card. Hopefully this is something TfL will eventually enable anyway.

 

[McScooby]

Not totally related, but a frustrating issue is when getting the bus - the bus app contains tickets which u have to activate when u get on. More often than not when tapping the NFC reader, the app quits & Apple Pay takes over. Anyone got any ideas to prevent this from happening? One option is to remove ApplePay, only because the iPhone for some reason doesn’t have a way of turning ApplePay off, but I’d rather keep it for other things!

 

[Reason077]

Not totally related, but a frustrating issue is when getting the bus - the bus app contains tickets which u have to activate when u get on. More often than not when tapping the NFC reader, the app quits & Apple Pay takes over. Anyone got any ideas to prevent this from happening? One option is to remove ApplePay, only because the iPhone for some reason doesn’t have a way of turning ApplePay off, but I’d rather keep it for other things!

As far as I know, iOS apps cannot access NFC functionality directly, so the problem is presumably that the phone is detecting the NFC reader and auto-activating because it thinks its a contactless / Apple Pay payment device.

Best option would be to convince your bus company to accept Apple Pay like TfL does

 

[genovelle]

That’s strange? I seem to already have it enabled on my XR.

It’s likely active on the device already since its rolling out in N.Y. tomorrow, but maybe needs to be activated on their side.

 

[Reason077]

The TFL contactless readers are the only ones where I feel my iPhone doesn't work as well as a regular contactless card or Lobster card. For every other payment reader e.g. in stores, the range of the iPhone Apple Pay stuff feels better and more reliable than using a contactless bank card but the opposite seems to be true for TFL card readers and I end up feeling like a lemon holding people up for a few seconds as I try to get it to read a couple of times. It's been this way for every iPhone I've had.

Odd. I've been using Apple Pay exclusively on TfL for years using my iPhone X (and iPhone 6 before it), and never had an issue like this. For me, it works reliably every time.

Do you pre-authenticate before approaching the ticket gate / card reader? (ie, double tap the power button to activate Apple Pay, and authenticate so that it says "Hold Near Reader"?)

 

[pika2000]

Lines of people all taking out and re-pocketing ~£1000 iPhones to walk through a bustling 'pinch' point.

Yeah, I can't see a problem with that... :/

With many other dense cities/countries like Shanghai, Beijing, Japan and Singapore implementing similar things, don’t see it being a big problem.

 

[Dazzerukuk]

Makes it even faster to pass through those gates and buses (though Face ID is quick enough if you think about it before you stand at the gate!) and Apple Watch doesn't need any other that on the London transport system anyway.

 

[gnasher729]

While this is good, I really am used to using face ID now and just quickly instigate it in the few steps before the barrier. As the thing stays on for about a minute there's been no issues during bottlenecks at the barriers so far.

Lots of people use iPhones without FaceId. Fortunately not too many, because they always hold up traffic and are quite annoying to everyone else. That's why I use my card; tried ApplePay for a week or so and it was just too slow. This will be a huge improvement. Although it really doesn't matter whether I pull my wallet out of one pocket or my phone out of the other pocket.

 

[delhifox]

Please enable it for TTC

 

[gnasher729]

What’s wrong with Oyster?

I prefer using my debit card. One card less in my wallet, and I don't need to top it up. Depends on where and how often you travel; for weekly / monthly / annual tickets you need Oyster, but I wouldn't save any money on those.

 

[TrentS]

Apple is slowly becoming "SO yesterday"...….

 

[ksec]

The only benefit to this would be the ability to load monthly and annual passes, or concessions such as a child pass or gold card on to your device rather than having to carry the physical card. Hopefully this is something TfL will eventually enable anyway.

Yes and any discount going from Zones to Zones or transport to transport that only works on Oyster card. I have yet to see any public transport that has these type of discounts worked out on PayPass / PayWave; NFC / EMV solutions. Having their own payment card solution, whether that is MiFare or FeliCa was the only way to do it. That is from South Korea, London, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

And Oyster is actually ran by Cubic, an US company which also operate similar system in New York and Sydney. I hope there will be lots more of these Transit Card on Apple Pay.

 

[Reason077]

Yes and any discount going from Zones to Zones or transport to transport that only works on Oyster card. I have yet to see any public transport that has these type of discounts worked out on PayPass / PayWave; NFC / EMV solutions. Having their own payment card solution, whether that is MiFare or FeliCa was the only way to do it. That is from South Korea, London, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Apple Pay has exactly the same fares and all the same discounts that you get with a regular adult Oyster card.

In fact, it has more discounts than Oyster, because it also has weekly fare capping: ie: the maximum amount you pay in a week with Apple Pay / Contactless is capped at the price of a weekly ticket. This discount is not available with Oyster.

 

[kyleh22]

This will be huge in stations like Euston. London's tap and go system is phenomenal - it will be great when iphones are able to achieve the same functionality as credit cards and oyster cards.

 

[ksec]

Apple Pay has exactly the same fares and all the same discounts that you get with a regular adult Oyster card.

In fact, it has more discounts than Oyster, because it also has weekly fare capping: ie: the maximum amount you pay in a week with Apple Pay / Contactless is capped at the price of a weekly ticket. This discount is not available with Oyster.

That is excluding TravelCards, right?

 

[Gasu E.]

While this is good, I really am used to using face ID now and just quickly instigate it in the few steps before the barrier. As the thing stays on for about a minute there's been no issues during bottlenecks at the barriers so far.

The problem isn't you. The problem is the people in front of you who don't plan ahead so meticulously.

 

[Reason077]

That is excluding TravelCards, right?

It is capped at the same fares as a day or week TravelCard. You can still get cheaper fares with a monthly or annual Travelcard, but that involves paying lots of money up front.

Pay-as-you-go Oyster, on the other hand, has a daily cap but not a weekly cap.

 

[Gasu E.]

Just a play on words between the British English verb 'to pinch' ('to steal'), and the noun 'pinch point' (area of congestion). Pick pocketing is commonplace in many London tube stations.

Is it common for pickpockets to steal the phone right out of people's hands? That seems like a risky approach for a pickpocket. Generally, the idea is to grab something the victim is not paying attention to. If the thief tries to grab something that is being held tightly, then some fairly likely outcomes include being punched in the face, creating a commotion during the attempt that draws the attention of onlookers before the grab is completed, and likely interference by onlookers before the grab is successful. There are a lot of better opportunities that don't create such an immediate commotion.

 

[Reason077]

That’s strange? I seem to already have it enabled on my XR.

I can confirm the Express Transit option appears in settings after installing the iOS 10.3.1 update. It can be turned on and UK cards can be activated for Express Transit.

Presumably it will not actually work with TfL yet? But I'm going to try it and see!

 

[TrulsZK]

Here in Norway we are not able to keep our travel cards in the Wallet app, hope will will be able to do so soon.

We use another system and app developed by Fara https://fara.no with a picture (today’s picture) and a QR code, both are changed daily.

The system works ok, but I would prefer using the wallet app.
It is much faster to use Express Transit on my Apple Watch than using the current app and QR code.

Express Transit:

1. Tap Apple Watch
2. Green checkmark on reader
3. Done

App and QR code:

1. Get iPhone out of pocket
2. Unlock iPhone
3. Open app
4. Select ticket
5. Tap Inspection
6. Hold the iPhone up to the reader an scan QR
7. Green checkmark on reader
8. Done

 

[Reason077]

Is it common for pickpockets to steal the phone right out of people's hands? That seems like a risky approach for a pickpocket.

Right! Considering how much CCTV there is on the London Underground, it'd be a pretty silly sort of crime. You'd be lucky to even make it out of the station! Thieves would be better off trying to snatch the phones from the thousands of people who walk around London streets every day staring at them, oblivious of their surroundings, but even that is pretty risky.

Then, of course, there's Activation Lock, which limits the value of stolen iPhones to their parts value. Too much risk for little reward.

 

[Newjackboy]

I can confirm the Express Transit option appears in settings after installing the iOS 10.3.1 update. It can be turned on and UK cards can be activated for Express Transit.

Presumably it will not actually work with TfL yet? But I'm going to try it and see!

How to find this setting? I'm on a XS Max running latest 12.4 public beta.

 

[Gasu E.]

Lots of people use iPhones without FaceId. Fortunately not too many, because they always hold up traffic and are quite annoying to everyone else. That's why I use my card; tried ApplePay for a week or so and it was just too slow. This will be a huge improvement. Although it really doesn't matter whether I pull my wallet out of one pocket or my phone out of the other pocket.

Some people are good at managing their wallets. Or they have simple lives that don't involve multiple credit cards, ID cards, etc. I carry a wallet with everything, but it's fat and bulky; if I put credit cards in a quick access slot, eventually those slots become worn and cards sometimes fall out. Which is one reason just whipping out the phone is so much better. It's slimmer than my wallet and just easier to whip out than a bulk wallet.

But I'm not a 20 year old who is trying to look good in skinny jeans!

 

[inkhorn]

With many other dense cities/countries like Shanghai, Beijing, Japan and Singapore implementing similar things, don’t see it being a big problem.

China has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and with Singapore and Japan can sentence you to three years in prison for theft, and life imprisonment or death (in China) for repeat offenders.

In the UK, it would be very unlikely that this type of theft would result in a custodial sentence at all.

 

[Reason077]

How to find this setting? I'm on a XS Max running latest 12.4 public beta.

Settings -> Wallet & Apple Pay -> (tap on a payment card) -> Express Transit

"Travel Cards / Express Transit Card" section now appears on the main Wallet & Apple Pay screen.