Contactless, tap on tap off & cash

If you're only planning to take the occasional journey, we offer the ability to pay with cash and contactless. Most of our services offer single and dayrider fares for those odd journeys. 

Our drivers carry cash to give change, but not large amounts, so please try and keep to paying in coins and small notes. If you can it is quicker and easier to pay with contactless. 

Contactless

Tap On, Tap Off is now available on all of our buses!

Benefits of Tap On, Tap Off:

• EASY
• CONTACTLESS
• PAPERLESS
• BEST DAY FARE
  • Tap on, tap off automatically calculates your best available daily fare

We accept contactless on all our buses. You can pay by:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Apple Pay
• Android Pay

Who is it for?

Tap on, tap off is suitable for adults making a single trip or multiple trips in any one day on Swindon’s bus company only. 

How does it work?

Simply TAP ON using the driver’s ticket machine at the start of each journey and TAP OFF at the end of each journey on the tap off reader located by the exit door, using a contactless payment method (Visa/Mastercard payment card or device using Apple Pay or Android Pay).

There is no need to tell the driver where you are going, and you don’t need a paper ticket. This all helps to make boarding our buses easier and faster.

How do I know what I will be charged?

If you use tap on tap off, the day cap is the same as our dayrider, dayrider plus or eveningrider tickets. If you only make a single journey you will only be charged the standard single adult fare.

What if I only make one or two trips?

The system will record exactly where you have travelled from and to and your fare will be charged at the rate of a single journey.

How can I check what I have been charged?

You can check your journey and fare history through our Contactless Customer Portal. The portal will be branded littlepay.  You can either set up an account or proceed as a guest - you will need the details of the payment card you used on the bus to track your trips.

Do I have to register my card first?

To use Tap On, Tap Off there is no need to register or sign up - you can board the bus with your contactless card or device to tap on and off. However, if you want to see your trip history, you will need to log into the customer portal.

Can I use more than one bank card?

To get the best available daily fare you will need to use the same card that day. If you use other contactless cards, your transactions will not be linked.

Who is tap on, tap off suitable for?

Adults who buy single or dayrider tickets.

Who does it not work for?

It won’t be suitable for:

•     Customers purchasing a transfer fare from one route to another
•     Child or young person fares
•     Group tickets
•     Customers who wish to buy promotional discounted tickets from the driver

These will continue to be available on the bus as paper tickets and you can still pay for these tickets using contactless payment devices or cash, but you must let the driver know what ticket you would like first. 

What happens if I forget to tap off?

You will be charged the single fare to the end of the route

How will it appear on my bank statement?

You will see a charge to your bank account from Go South Coast, you may see more than one charge in one day, but the total added together will be no more than the cost of of an adult dayrider/dayriderplus or evening rider ticket.

What if the bus I am on breaks down and I am asked to transfer to another bus?

On the rare occasion this happens our driver will tell you what to do, but you should tap off of the bus you started your journey on, i.e the bus that broke down and do not tap on or off of the bus you are transferred to. For any additional trips you make that day, please tap on and tap off as normal.

What if I get asked to use my PIN?

The new requirement to enter your PIN number after five contactless transactions does not apply on our buses.

 

All of our buses accept contactless payments. As long as your card, phone or watch supports contactless payments, you can use it on our buses. Our ticket machines do not support Chip & PIN payments and random spot checking (where your bank will make you perform a Chip & PIN payment every certain number of transactions) will not occur as bus travel is considered an essential service. The usual limit of £45 applies to contactless transactions, however, you can make multiple transactions using the same card.

Using contactless on-board is safe, secure and easy and carries the same level of protection as using Chip & PIN.

Troubleshooting

My new bank card doesn't work?

If you have a new or replacement contactless card, you might not be able to make a contactless payment until you've made your first chip and PIN transaction. This is a security measure applied by your card issuer.

Also check the 'Valid From' date to ensure it's ready to be used.

My card works at other retailers

If you can make chip and PIN transactions with your card but it's not working for travel on our services, it may be because:

• Your card wasn't issued in the UK - some contactless cards issued outside the UK aren't accepted on our services

• Your card isn't contactless - it doesn't display the contactless payment symbol.

My card has stopped working

Sometimes your card won't be accepted, even though you've used it before to travel on our services.

This could be because of unpaid fares

Sometimes your card may be accepted by our card readers, but the payment is declined by your card issuer.

If this happens:

• You've made a journey that you've not paid for
• You won't be able to use your card again to travel until the unpaid fare has been paid

How do I pay my unpaid fare?

• Contact your card issuer

If you don't pay your unpaid fare through your account, we'll try by sending requests to your card issuer.

If the payment is successful, this could appear on your bank statement up to 30 days after you travelled.

My card is damaged

You'll need to contact your card issuer if your card is damaged and no longer recognised by card readers.

My card has expired

You'll need to contact your card issuer if your card has expired.