Greater Glasgow

New technology just the ticket for First customers

Passengers traveling on First in Glasgow's bus network in the Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch areas will soon benefit from the latest ticketing technology when boarding their bus as the company rolls-out new ticket machines across its local fleet over the next couple of weeks.

New Almex ticket machines are to be fitted to First's entire fleet of vehicles operating in Greater Glasgow during 2009. The Company's Cumbernauld depot will be the second (following Dumbarton) to see the new technology in action, with services operated from the depot (including Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch services) being switched to Almex over the coming few weeks.

Fitted with smartcard technology, the machines work with microchip cards - like concessionary travel cards - and require passengers to place their cards on the ticket machine on board the bus, which will automatically issue the ticket.

Alex Shearer, Executive Director for First in Glasgow, said: "We will be asking passengers to do something different when they board our buses, so it's important that we let them know exactly what will be involved. It will take a little time, though, for both passengers and drivers to get used to the new technology."

Alex continued: "To make use of the new machines, passengers are required to place their concession card or Travelcard on to the new machine so that the chip can be 'read', but they must still show their pass to the driver to ensure the photograph is valid. Our drivers will, of course, be ready to help and advise passengers with these changes."