Tap on Tap off contactless payments

The new convenient Tap on Tap off contactless way to pay for bus trips on the Isle of Wight has arrived.

All you need is a contactless bank card (Visa/Mastercard payment card or device using Apple Pay or Android Pay) and you can start making great savings.
 

  1. Tap on the ticket machine by the driver.
  2. Take a seat and enjoy the ride.
  3. Tap off at the special reader by the exit door.


Who is it for?

Tap on, tap off automatically calculates your best available fare in any 24 hour period and is suitable for anyone making a single trip or multiple trips.  

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

Who does it not work for?

It won't be suitable for:

  • Customers purchasing a transfer fare from one route to another
  • Child fares
  • Group tickets
  • Customers purchasing a weekly ticket from the driver
  • Customers buying return tickets that are less than the daily capped zone price
  • Customers who want a return that is a lower price than the daily capped fare
  • 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. You do not need to tap off when buying paper tickets.

What will I be charged?

The price of any journeys you make will be calculated by the system and charged to your account at the end of each day. The system will automatically calculate your best available daily fare.  If you use tap on tap off the day cap is the same as our adult 24 hour Rover  or Rover + day tickets. If you are only making a single journey you will only be charged a standard single fare.

Please note tap on tap off is not suitable for anyone wishing to buy a through ticket (ie a single trip that starts and ends on a different route) you can still buy these using contactless but you must tell the driver before placing your card on the ticket machine.

You can view all your trips on a customer portal.

There is no 'subscription' or 'recurring payment' taken from your account once you have tapped on to the ticket machine. Any payments taken from you account will be as a result of you tapping on to the machine or buying a ticket.

Please be careful when using the app and key cards or bank cards near each other to ensure double payments are not made. 

What happens if I forget to tap off?

You will be charged the single fare to the end of the route, so always remember to tap off in order to pay the correct fare. If you do forget to tap off and are overcharged as a result, please contact customer services.

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.

Mycard has expired

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

 

If you need any help or have any issues or questions please contact our customer service team.