"The expansion of contactless payments on trains has caused the price of travelling on some services to soar as they now require more expensive peak time tickets. The change allows people to pay by tapping a bank card or contactless-enabled device on readers at stations, avoiding the need to manually purchase a ticket. But Rebecca Paul, Conservative MP for Reigate, said the new rules - introduced to 30 more stations in the South East on 14 December - risked "pricing passengers out of rail altogether"."
"The introduction of contactless payments to 30 more stations in south-east England forms part of the Department for Transport's (DfT) Project Oval. However, changes to paper ticketing time restrictions to align with Transport for London's contactless structure have meant some services that could previously be used with an off-peak ticket now require a more expensive peak ticket. The first weekday London-bound Southern service from Reigate, Surrey, that can be boarded with an off-peak day travelcard ticket now departs at 09:28, compared with 08:58 previously."
Contactless payments have been expanded to 30 additional stations in south-east England as part of the Department for Transport's Project Oval. The change allows passengers to tap bank cards or contactless devices at station readers instead of buying tickets manually. Aligning paper ticket time restrictions with Transport for London's contactless structure has shifted some services from off-peak to peak classification, raising fares for affected journeys. Specific timetable adjustments mean the first weekday London-bound off-peak travelcard-eligible train from Reigate now departs later. Ticket price differences and new afternoon restrictions have frustrated local passengers and prompted criticism from the Reigate MP and rail user groups.
Read at www.bbc.com
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