Malta Public Transport announces contactless payment on busy routes

Contactless payment is now available to customers on 80 buses operating on busy routes, Malta Public Transport announced.

“Our long-term goal is to reach 100% contactless payments and this partnership with Bank of Valletta is a big step forward in that direction,” Commercial Director at Malta Public Transport, Daniel Grech said in a statement on Monday. 

Grech said that eight in ten passengers already opt for cashless payment through the Tallinja card.

Passengers without a Tallinja card may purchase on-bus tickets through their contactless card or device, including BOVPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and GarminPay enabled smartphones and watches. This choice of payment method not only makes onboarding significantly faster but eliminates the handling of physical money and minimises contact, the company said.

“Bank of Valletta is proud to have been chosen by Malta Public Transport as its partner in this project,” Executive Electronic Banking at Bank of Valletta, Franco Xuereb, said. “During these past months we have seen an impressive shift in consumers choosing these more convenient contactless type of payments, and we are delighted that public transport users will also now be able to reap the benefits of contactless payments,” Xuereb said. 

Malta Public Transport also reminded its customers of the measures that are in place to safeguard their well-being, and that of its employees.  Passengers choosing to pay in cash are to have the exact fare as bus drivers are unable to give back change and facemasks are to be worn at all times on the bus.

Meanwhile, vehicles are being cleaned multiple times during the day using hospital-grade products, and all the fleet is fumigated every night. The company has installed Perspex separators between the driver and passengers and reduced standing capacity to allow more space between users.

For the protection of customers, buses are also monitored 24 hours a day from the control room using GPS and CCTV systems on board. The MPT is in continuous contact with authorities to ensure that journeys are as safe as possible for everyone.