​Pay as you go with contactless takes off at three more Thameslink stations in Herts and Beds

Pay as you go convenience arrived at three Thameslink stations today (Tuesday, October 22) – St Albans, Harpenden and Luton Airport Parkway - giving passengers greater convenience and choice.

Pay as you go with contactless generally offers the cheapest single fares towards London by customers simply touching their contactless payment card or smartphone payment app on the yellow readers at the station.

The addition of Luton Airport Parkway to stations accepting pay as you go means that four of London’s airports are now accessible by simply using contactless. Many contactless cards issued outside the UK can also be used to travel and, since contactless ticketing launched in September 2014, Transport for London (TfL) has seen cards from more than 130 countries around the world used for travel.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), parent company of Thameslink, has worked with TfL and the Department for Transport (DfT) to extend the contactless system to St Albans, Harpenden and Luton Airport Parkway - in addition to the Key smartcard, KeyGo and paper tickets.

Thameslink and Great Northern Managing Director Tom Moran said: “We are delighted to give passengers at St Albans, Harpenden and Luton Airport Parkway more choice and convenience, with generally lower single fares, through the introduction of contactless pay as you go. We have worked closely with Transport for London and the Department for Transport to bring contactless to these stations and look forward to further expansion of the scheme.”

Oliver Jaycock, Head of Strategic Affairs at London Luton Airport, said: “The extension of contactless pay as you go to Luton Airport Parkway has made travel between London and the airport by train quicker, easier and hassle free. With a short hop on the shuttle bus to the airport, which also accepts contactless pay as you go, passengers can now reach the terminal with a simple tap and go.”

Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer at Transport for London, said: “Pay as you go with contactless has really taken off in London and the surrounding areas and has now made travel more convenient and accessible for customers. Around 60 per cent of all pay as you go journeys are now made using contactless, which means you never need to queue unnecessarily to buy a ticket. We continue to work with the DfT and GTR on expanding it to more stations, making travel more convenient for all.”

Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, said: “It’s great news that passengers will now benefit from new contactless pay as you go journeys at three key stations across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Contactless ticketing is easier to purchase and provides generally cheaper, more flexible single journeys for passengers.”

Harpenden resident Neil Middleton, who is Chairman of the Association of Public Transport Users - the local Rail User Group, said: “We welcome the arrival of cheaper single journeys and contactless as a payment option, where there is no requirement to top up. It is important that travellers who choose to, can avoid the hassle and time of buying a paper ticket before their journey by opting for pay as you go. For regular users, Thameslink’s KeyGo may be a better option and we urge them to consider this.”

Anne Main, MP for St Albans, also welcomed the arrival of pay as you go with contactless to St Albans station. She said: "We have been pushing for this for quite some time so I am very pleased that it has now been launched.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Create an account

Customers using contactless payment cards can quickly and easily view their journey history online by creating an online account at http://contactless.tfl.gov.uk . From there, they can personalise cards or devices by clicking on the pencil icon to make them easier to identify and hide any that are no longer used. They can also check their journey history on the go by using the free TfL Oyster and contactless app.

Fares information

Pay as you go generally offers the cheapest single fares. However, there are occasions where a paper single or return ticket will be cheaper, and passengers are encouraged to check fare options before purchase.

The full range of paper tickets remains available so that customers can still benefit from discounts and offers that are not available with pay as you go, such as Thameslink’s GroupSave. At weekends, super off-peak paper tickets are cheaper than the pay as you go fare.

For more information and advice on the use of contactless, visit https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets/oyster-contactless-and-plusbus/contactless-travel

Popularity of contactless

Across London and the surrounding areas, around 60 per cent of all pay as you go journeys are now made using contactless. This is up from 25 per cent just a few years ago. Since it launched on Tube and rail services in September 2014, more than 3.1 billion journeys have been made, showing how Londoners and visitors have taken to using contactless payments as part of their daily lives.

Further extension of pay as you go

Pay as you go with contactless is also set to be extended on the Great Northern route to Welham Green, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City later this year.