Cashless bus travel arrives in town

BUS operator Network Warrington has launched a new travel card which will enable passengers to travel without carrying cash.
The Midas Card can be used on any Network Warrington service at any time of the day.
It should help speed up boarding times and so make it easier for buses to run to time.
Passengers using the card simply have to hover it over the target on the ticket machine and their fares is deducted from the credit on the card.
The card can be topped up on the bus, or at the Travel Centre.
Network Warrington chairman Maureen Banner (pictured) said: “The Midas card has been introduced to make travelling easier for our customers.
“It will also speed up boarding times as the driver doesn’t need to issue change to every passenger.
“We will continue to make improvements to the card and we hope to introduce an online top up service in the near future.”
More details of the card can be found at www.midascard.co.uk
Network Warrington has also launched a mobile phone app, available on iPhone and Android phones, to make journey planning simple.
Features of the app include a journey planner, detailed route maps listing every stop and next bus departures.
The app also features a live Twitter feed which notifies customers of delays on the network.
Ms Banner added: “A large proportion of visits to our website now come from mobile devices and this is on the rise.
“Over the next year we will be introducing a number of improvements to the provision of online and on-the-go information to further improve the customer experience.”
The company operates 110 buses which carry about nine million passengers about four million miles in a year.