Apple Pay Express Transit arriving in London in next few months
Apple Pay's Express Transit will be heading to the United Kingdom's capital in the coming months, after Transport For London advised it is working with Apple to integrate the time-saving feature into the London Underground and the rest of the city's public transit system.
Introduced as part of iOS 12.3, Express Transit allows iPhone owners to use their devices to pay for travel through a public transport system, without needing Face ID or Touch ID authentication to wake the iPhone at every point it is required. By enabling the transactions to occur without authentication, this saves precious seconds, which for transit systems hosting millions of passengers, could save considerable amounts of time and enable more people to travel.
A spokesperson for Transport for London confirmed it was having "positive discussions with Apple about enabling Express Transit on Apple devices on the TfL network," reports The Verge. The TfL network includes the iconic London Underground, as well as trains and buses.
TfL did not commit to an exact schedule for the feature's implementation, advising "More information about timing and plans will be available at a future date." However, in response to a query about the feature on Twitter, the organization suggested its introduction "in the coming months."
So far, Express Transit has gone live on Portland's TriMet and C-Tran buses, MAX light rail, and the Portland Street Car, as well as other implementations covering areas of Japan as well as Beijing and Shanghai in China. New York's MTA will be enabling the feature from Friday, initially working with Staten Island buses and 16 stations on the 4, 5, and 6 lines, with wider accessibility planned by the end of 2020.
Introduced as part of iOS 12.3, Express Transit allows iPhone owners to use their devices to pay for travel through a public transport system, without needing Face ID or Touch ID authentication to wake the iPhone at every point it is required. By enabling the transactions to occur without authentication, this saves precious seconds, which for transit systems hosting millions of passengers, could save considerable amounts of time and enable more people to travel.
A spokesperson for Transport for London confirmed it was having "positive discussions with Apple about enabling Express Transit on Apple devices on the TfL network," reports The Verge. The TfL network includes the iconic London Underground, as well as trains and buses.
TfL did not commit to an exact schedule for the feature's implementation, advising "More information about timing and plans will be available at a future date." However, in response to a query about the feature on Twitter, the organization suggested its introduction "in the coming months."
So far, Express Transit has gone live on Portland's TriMet and C-Tran buses, MAX light rail, and the Portland Street Car, as well as other implementations covering areas of Japan as well as Beijing and Shanghai in China. New York's MTA will be enabling the feature from Friday, initially working with Staten Island buses and 16 stations on the 4, 5, and 6 lines, with wider accessibility planned by the end of 2020.
Comments
Arguably, Face ID make the iPhone less convenient for payments in most real-world situations...
The phone on the other hand is a pain, first take it from the pocket, then either bring up wallet or let it activate from being in the proximity of the reader, then authenticate through face id - which isn't always convenient.
A couple years ago, as a tourist in London and a first time "tuber", let me tell you...people there have ZERO TOLERANCE for riders that hesitate at the entry points. The "looks", under-the-breath comments, etc. I was totally impressed by the system and the fact that if you missed the last train, the next one will be there in a few minutes. But like the article states, these people think in SECONDS, not minutes. Not sure what the rush is all about.
MTA (NYC) Metrocard is worse, as it's a flimsy piece of nothing with a magnetic strip which must be swiped at a consistent speed or else the transaction fails. Encouraging to hear that it's replacement (OMNY, launching tomorrow) will have this feature from the start. I'm surprised TfL hadn't done this sooner to be honest. Although Express Transit only came out with 12.3, you would think they could have done something homegrown and then done a migration when the time was right.
lol. You obviously stay in some third world country that doesn't have a metro or subway as this is just pure rubbish.
Arguably, but not actually.
Apple Pay is no different with FaceID vs TouchID -- you can still prime the pump by double-clicking the side button as you remove the iPhone from your pocket and move it toward the NFC POS terminal. By the time it is there it's scanning for your face and completes the transaction. No time penalty.
TouchID:
- touch sensor
- place on POS
FaceID:
- double-click side button
- place on POS
...same number of steps in either use case. Sometimes people think they have to wait for it to ask for your face or whatever, but you don't.
The transit use case is different, since it doesnt have a POS terminal at counter/mid-waist level like most retailers. Thus this new protocol. But even still, you can still prime the pump -- as you approach double-click the side button, look at the phone and authenticate, then when you get to the turnstile wave it over the NFC panel. You don't have to wait to scan your face, which apparently people aren't aware of.
Comtactless bankcards have been accepted since 2014 by TfL, be they VISA, MasterCard, Maestro or Amex.
Apple Pay is of course accepted, alongside its competitors.
If there’s any transport system that needs to catch up with payment options, it’s New York’s.