Smartcard system is just the ticket for bus operator

Published on Tuesday 23 September 2008 10:06

FIRST Bus is rolling out new ticketing technology on its Lothians fleet over the coming weeks.

The new Almex machines have already been trialled on services operating from the Linlithgow and Livingston depots and the machines are now being rolled out across all of its buses.

Fitted with smartcard technology, the machines work with microchip cards – like concessionary travel cards – and require passengers to place their cards on the ticket machine, which automatically issues the ticket.

Juliette Turner, operations director for First in Scotland East, said: "To make use of the new machines, passengers are required to place their concession card or Travelcard on to the new machine so that the chip can be 'read', but they must still show their pass to the driver to ensure the photograph is valid. Our drivers will, of course, be ready to help and advise passengers with these changes.

"We will be asking passengers to do something different when they board our buses, so it's important that we let them know exactly what will be involved. It will take a little time, though, for both passengers and drivers to get used to the new technology."

The Almex machines also contain GPS tracking technology, which means vehicles can be monitored and tracked more closely.