Visa survey identifies capped contactless fare payments as key driver of more frequent public transportation usage

Visa graph showing consumers globally expect public transport to offer contactless fare payments
SURVEY: Contactless payments is one of the key motivators for getting people to use public transport

More than nine in ten public transport users worldwide expect transit services to offer contactless fare payment options (91%) and just under half prefer to make contactless payments for their transit fares (45%), according to Visa’s 2022 Future of Urban mobility survey.

Nearly a third of respondents identified contactless payments as a key feature that would encourage them to use public transport (32%), while 44% said that the main benefit of contactless fare payments was convenience, 40% the time saved due to faster transactions, 38% worrying less about having enough cash and 35% reduced contact with surfaces and other people.

The survey also found that 61% of public transport users would be encouraged to use transit services more frequently if fare capping was offered, with that percentage rising to 63% of users who are students, 65% of those who are employed and 69% of parents.

“The speed, security and ease of digital payments have helped shift global consumers’ payment preferences,” Visa says.

“Payment options such as fare capping represent an important opportunity for transit operators to serve as many riders as possible.

“Fare capping limits how much a rider pays for their total rides in a day, week or month, eliminating the need to tie up funds on a monthly pass or transit-dedicated card.”

It can also “help speed up the boarding process by alleviating confusion over how to pay for newer riders”, Visa adds.

The 2022 Future of Urban Mobility Survey was conducted with 11,550 adult public transport users in 14 markets including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, the UK, South Africa, the UAE, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

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