Edinburgh Trams is to introduce the long-awaited Tap-On, Tap-Off contactless payment system very soon – and it will work seamlessly with Lothian Buses.
Passengers will be able to hold their card or phone against the payment station on the platform and then do the same thing at the other end of the journey to complete payment.
Within the City Zone the payment will be a single standard adult fare. If a passenger makes additional journeys then there is a cap of £5 each day which is the cost of a City DAY ticket.
If you use the same method of payment for more journeys throughout the week then there is also a weekly cap of £24.50.
Any valid contactless enabled debit or credit card can be used, as well as Google & Apple Pay. Just look for the contactless symbol on your card.
You MUST tap off the tram to complete your journey, or the journey will be registered as incomplete, and you’ll be charged the full Airport Zone fare of £7.90. This will not be included in daily or weekly capping.
The same card or device MUST be used each time you tap on or off a tram, or tap on to a bus, or the daily and weekly fare caps will not apply
The weekly payment calculation will refresh every Monday.
There is much more information here on the Edinburgh Trams website.
Incomplete Journeys
When you leave the tram at your destination, you must tap the same card or device against the platform validator to end your journey. If the card is not tapped off, the journey is registered as incomplete, and you’ll be charged a single Airport Zone fare of £7.90.
This is specific to the trams and will not apply to Lothian Buses’ existing tapping system.
Card Clash
Card clash happens when you accidentally tap more than one card or device on the Platform Validators.
This can happen if you have multiple contactless cards within your purse or wallet and don’t remove the correct card before tapping on or off, or if you keep your contactless cards inside your phone case.
To avoid card clash, please only present a single device or card when tapping on, and present the same card or device when tapping off.
If you don’t, the Platform Validators may:
Take payment from the wrong card or device
Not register your card or device
Take multiple payments from each card or device
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Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
