The cost of a four-week West Midlands Metro tram ticket is being cut by £4 to celebrate the launch of the Swift on Mobile smartphone app.
Android smartphone users with Google Pay can now buy and save their tickets using the Swift on Mobile app. They simply tap their phone on the tram conductor’s ticket machine and therefore no longer have to carry a separate Swift card.
As an incentive to use Swift on Mobile, customers that buy four-week Metro tickets will only pay £70, instead of the usual £74 price. Those using Swift on Mobile to buy Metro day tickets will also save 10p per day.
West Midlands Metro is the first public transport service in the UK to allow passengers to save an ITSO-enabled ticket on Google Pay. This is now available to all travellers following a limited trial in the autumn.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), has worked with Google Pay and smart ticketing specialist ITSO Transit Hub on the new service.
TfWM is also working with technology partners and bus and rail operators to bring Swift on Mobile to more forms of public transport. The ultimate aim is to provide seamless tap and go ticketing across the region’s public transport network.
Cllr Roger Lawrence, WMCA portfolio holder for transport and leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Using Swift on Mobile and Google Pay is the latest way to buy your tram ticket.
“To celebrate the roll out we are delighted to offer a discount to encourage more people to try it out for themselves.
“It is our aim as we grow our bus, train and tram networks to seek more ways to use the latest technology to make buying tickets easier for passengers and make public transport a more attractive alternative.”
The Swift on Mobile scheme has been backed with funding from Midlands Connect which is looking to further develop the technology across the wider Midlands region.
This follows the recent launch of the West Midlands Metro app through which passengers can buy ‘show and go’ tickets. Travellers now benefit from two great ways to pay.
In October the West Midlands was named the UK’s first Future Mobility Area and given £20 million Government funding to innovate and develop technology to improve transport in the region.
You can download the Swift on Mobile app from Google Play Store or from www.myswiftcard.com/mobile
Please note this is only available on smartphone devices with NFC (contactless communication) capability running the Android Lollipop 5.0 operating system or later.
