More public transport buses with contactless payment points

More public transport buses with contactless payment points
Malta Public Transport teams up with Bank of Valletta

Malta Public Transport is extending contactless payment points to 80 buses operating on busy routes. Following a successful pilot project over these past weeks, contactless payment will now be available to more passengers on more journeys.

Daniel Grech, Commercial Director at Malta Public Transport, revealed that eight in ten passengers already opt for cashless payment through the Tallinja Card. “Our long-term goal is to reach 100 per cent contactless payments and this partnership with Bank of Valletta is a big step forward in that direction,” explained Grech.

Passengers without a Tallinja card may purchase on-bus tickets through their contactless card or device, including BOVPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and GarminPay enabled smartphones and watches. This choice of payment method not only makes onboarding significantly faster but eliminates the handling of physical money and minimises contact.

“Bank of Valletta is proud to have been chosen by Malta Public Transport as its partner in this project,” stated Franco Xuereb, Executive Electronic Banking at Bank of Valletta. “During these past months we have seen an impressive shift in consumers choosing these more convenient contactless type of payments and we are delighted that public transport users will also now be able to reap the benefits of contactless payments.”

Efforts by Malta Public Transport to reduce the exchange of cash in the last years have led to easy, hassle-free travel and the operator envisages cashless payments to increase further with the installation of a fully-integrated contactless system on all buses, which is planned for the first quarter of 2021 implementing the new OP2GO solution from Ingenico.

Malta Public Transport reminds its customers of the measures that are in place to safeguard their well-being and that of its employees. Passengers choosing to pay in cash are to have the exact fare as bus drivers are unable to give back change and facemasks are to be worn at all times on the bus.

Meanwhile, vehicles are being cleaned multiple times during the day using hospital-grade products and all the fleet is fumigated every night. The company has installed Perspex separators between the driver and passengers and reduced standing capacity to allow more space between users. For the protection of customers, buses are monitored 24 hours a day from the control room using GPS and CCTV systems on board. The MPT is in continuous contact with authorities to ensure that journeys are as safe as possible for everyone.

Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta).