Arrive, a leading global mobility platform, has today announced its collaboration with Google to bring real-time travel data to its customers through Google Transit Insights, starting with Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams. Passengers will be able to view live payment and journey details in their Google Wallet once they have paid with Google Pay.
Google Transit Insights is a new function within Google Wallet designed for open-payment transit systems. This feature allows Arrive to feed real-time travel payment information directly to travel operators’ passengers. Android users simply pay for travel with a card in their Google Wallet, and all subsequent journeys and payment data becomes instantly accessible in one convenient location.
With the live data provided by Arrive, riders can now track their spending, monitor their progress towards daily fare caps, view savings, and receive direct notifications about their account or network changes from their transport operator, all within Google Wallet. This also enables proactive communication about payment issues or promotions without requiring users to download any additional applications.
Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams first to offer service with Arrive
Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams will be the first of Arrive’s transport operator partners to benefit from offering Google Transit Insights to their passengers in the coming months. Arrive provides the validators and payment infrastructure for both operators. Through the cooperation with Google, Arrive will be able to offer Google Transit Insights to more customers in the future.
Martin Sandström, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, commented: “By being able to offer Google Transit Insights to our customers we are able to close an information gap both for riders and for transport operators in open payment systems and ease movement in cities for public transit users. This is a vital part of Arrive’s work to create a global mobility platform, eliminating data gaps and helping our partners see the full picture of urban mobility.”
Jonathan Hill, Head of Transit Partnerships, Google Wallet added: "Paying for transit using Google Pay has always been quick and secure. Now, by collaborating with Arrive to roll out Google Transit Insights for Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams, we are taking the experience a step further. We're giving riders real-time visibility into their travel history and fare caps right in Google Wallet, empowering them to manage their spending effortlessly while supporting sustainable transport."
Sarah Boyd, Chief Executive of Lothian and Edinburgh Trams commented: "As the inaugural customer for this Arrive and Google collaboration, we are delighted to offer Google Transit Insights to our customers.
"Seamless, integrated ticketing across bus and tram is already enjoyed by tens of thousands of customers each day across Edinburgh and the Lothians. This latest development represents the next step in the evolution of our ticketing offering, designed to enhance the overall travel experience.
"By introducing Google Transit Insights, we will be giving customers greater visibility of their travel patterns and spending, while making it easier to see the benefits of fare capping and the value they receive from using our services."