Greater Manchester Gets Support for Apple Pay Express Mode

[MacRumors]

Support for Apple Pay's Express Mode has this week been added to the Bee Network in Greater Manchester, enabling passengers to pay for bus and tram travel without unlocking their iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new functionality marks the first time a UK integrated public transport system outside London has implemented Express Mode. According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the launch builds on the network's rollout of contactless "tap and go" earlier this year, which has already led to more than one million contactless journeys per week.

Apple Pay's Express Mode was first introduced in London in 2019, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch owners to pass through Transport for London turnstiles with a single tap. The feature is designed primarily for public transit systems, enabling rapid contactless transactions that bypass the biometric or passcode requirement that normally accompanies Apple Pay. The feature also supports iPhone's Power Reserve mode, meaning transactions can still be made for several hours even if the device battery is critically low.

Users can select a debit or credit card in the Apple Wallet app as their default transit card under "Express Travel Settings." Once enabled, payment requires only holding the device near a card reader. For most users, the default payment card already selected in Apple Wallet will automatically be assigned to Express Mode, though this can be changed at any time in Settings.

Express Mode is already supported in cities around the world, including London, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, and Sydney.

Article Link: Greater Manchester Gets Support for Apple Pay Express Mode

 

[ignatius345]

I was skeptical of Transit Express Mode when it first rolled out to replace the MetroCard here in NYC. I was worried it would be slow, or people would be futzing with their devices and blocking the turnstiles. But as it turns out, it works very quickly and it seems that 95% of people get it and are using it right. You still see people who don't have it set up right or just think they have to unlock their phone to make it work, but most people seem to get that you just tap and keep moving.

 

[KVXC]

Beijing is not Express Mode, when you use a bank card.

 

[MrPresident]

Top one, sorted like, sound y’know.

 

[211]

I wish more people knew about Express Mode in the London Underground. Better yet, I wish they would get their iPhone out of their pockets or purses, wasting time fishing for it, before they get to the gate

 

[Carlson-online]

Top one, sorted like, sound y’know.

We don't all speak like that

 

[covertsurfer]

I wish more people knew about Express Mode in the London Underground. Better yet, I wish they would get their iPhone out of their pockets or purses, wasting time fishing for it, before they get to the gate

I wish it’d work. When I put the phone on the turnstile it shows the card up and seems to want FaceId to confirm the transaction. Express Card setup in Settings etc

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Just about the greatest city in the world tbh.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

We don't all speak like that

I do. 🤷‍♂️

 

[ifxf]

I wish more people knew about Express Mode in the London Underground. Better yet, I wish they would get their iPhone out of their pockets or purses, wasting time fishing for it, before they get to the gate

Must be the same people in supermarkets that wait until the the clerk has finished scanning all their items before fishing out their phone to scan it.

 

[fede777]

In Argentina Google went ahead and already made this available with Android a couple weeks ago, hope Apple follows soon.

 

[apparatchik]

has anyone tried this in Mexico City?

Usually I pay with Apple Pay (debit card) to access Metrobus / Metro, but didn’t know this was available until now, just turned Express Mode on one of my cards, will have to try it next time I’m there.

 

[Reason077]

I was skeptical of Transit Express Mode when it first rolled out to replace the MetroCard here in NYC. I was worried it would be slow, or people would be futzing with their devices and blocking the turnstiles. But as it turns out, it works very quickly and it seems that 95% of people get it and are using it right. You still see people who don't have it set up right or just think they have to unlock their phone to make it work, but most people seem to get that you just tap and keep moving.

Apple Pay was pretty great for paying Tube fares even before Express Transit mode came out. And even before Face ID came out for that matter: you just had to touch your finger on the Touch ID sensor as you approached the fare gates to "pre authorise" it before tapping on the reader.

Even back then it was better than fumbling for a physical card which would inevitably be in the wrong pocket, stuck in your wallet, buried in your backpack, or just lost...

 

[Reason077]

Must be the same people in supermarkets that wait until the the clerk has finished scanning all their items before fishing out their phone to scan it.

Clerks who scan your items for you? In the UK?!! I don't know where you're shopping but it sounds very fancy... 😉

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Nexus the operator of public transport here in Newcastle (Tyne and Wear) have asked for such integration with Apple, but have been blanked by them.
Apple really needs a team doing better to work with transit authorities to enable it everywhere.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

In Argentina Google went ahead and already made this available with Android a couple weeks ago, hope Apple follows soon.

Apple requires a team to build the functionality themselves on behalf of the transit authority, Android allows the transit authorities themselves to develop the functionality.

It is the same with digital tickets.
All the Premier League clubs went to digital tickets a couple of years ago (some did before this) and they piggy back on a developer who has a pre-approved authority to make tickets company able with the NFC chips in Apple devices, rather than having to rely on each club having to work with Apple on their own to gain such authority.