Press releases

Customers using Arriva buses across the UK will be able to pick up a weekly or 4-weekly bus ticket with their loaf of bread and pint of milk – thanks to a national partnership between Arriva and PayPoint.

The partnership will see Arriva bus tickets* available at PayPoint outlets across the UK in areas where Arriva operates services - meaning that more and more customers can take advantage of this convenient way of buying tickets.

Market research and customer feedback indicated to Arriva that customers wanted the company to introduce easier ways to buy bus tickets. In response to this, Arriva has now made weekly and 4-weekly tickets available from PayPoint outlets. There is no need to fill out forms or provide photographs - all people have to do is ask for the ticket they want and then hop on whatever Arriva service suits them best.

With no need to find change at the bus stop, boarding times will be faster and customers can still buy their day, weekly and 4-weekly tickets direct from their bus driver if they want to.

Catherine Mason, customer services and marketing director for Arriva's UK Bus division said:

We believe this represents a significant improvement to the service we offer customers, especially as so many of the shops and other outlets with a PayPoint service are within just a short walk of an Arriva bus service.

Many of our customers will already be familiar with the convenience of topping up their mobile phones or paying their BT, gas or electricity bills at PayPoint outlets. Now they can buy their bus tickets at the same time.

There are currently more than 11,000 PayPoint outlets across the UK and Northern Ireland, processing around four million transactions a week. PayPoint is not only fast and efficient but also gives customers a wider choice of how, when and where to make their payments.

PayPoint's chief executive Dominic Taylor said:

I'm very pleased that PayPoint and Arriva are working together to make it easier and more convenient for customers to purchase bus tickets, whilst bringing benefits to our PayPoint retailers at the same time. We expect this new service to be extremely popular with customers, as many of them are regular bus passengers and most PayPoint outlets are located in residential areas.

Ends

Notes to editors

• *Arriva tickets are already available at PayPoint outlets in Mid Cheshire, Paisley, Scotland; the Medway Towns; Kent Thameside; Maidstone; Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells and, from 6 December, Durham. Arriva bus tickets are not available from PayPoint outlets in London.