Tap & Cap FAQs
Can my child use Tap & Cap?
Tap & Cap will always charge the Adult Single fare for the journey made, as the system cannot tell if you are an adult or a child from your payment card.
Are there situations where I shouldn't try to use Tap & Cap?
It’s not suitable if you need:
- Child or Under-19 fares
- Group tickets
- A transfer fare from one route to another
- A promotional discounted ticket
Also, if your journeys will all be within one of Cornwall’s larger towns, you may find that a Town Zone ticket gives you better value.
How do I know what I will be charged?
If you use Tap & Cap, we will give you the best available all Cornwall daily fare. The price of any journeys you make will be calculated by the system and charged to your account at the end of each day. The system will automatically calculate your best available Cornwall daily fare depending on what fare zone you have travelled in. Your journey will automatically be capped once you reach the all Cornwall Day or Week Ticket price.
What if I only make one or two trips?
The system will record the bus stop you have boarded at, and the bus stop you alight at, and your fare will be charged at the rate of a single journey.
What buses use Tap & Cap?
There are Tap & Cap readers on all Cornwall’s main network buses, run by Go Cornwall Bus services, Cornwall by Kernow, Hopley’s Coaches, OTS and Travel Cornwall.
Only Truro Park & Ride or privately contracted journeys are excluded.
How can I check what I have been charged?
You can check your journey and fare history through our Contactless Customer Portal. The portal will be branded littlepay. You will need the details of the payment card you used on the bus to track your trips. You will be able to see transactions for the last 90 days – if you need details of a journey more than 90 days ago, please get in touch.
Do I have to register my card first?
To use Tap & Cap, there is no need to register or sign up – just use your contactless card or device to tap on and off. However, if you want to see your trip history, you will need to enter your card details in the customer portal. If you use Apple Pay, Google Pay, or another digital wallet service, you simply need to enter the details of the physical card associated with your digital wallet.
Can I use more than one bank card?
To get the best available daily fare you will need to use the same payment method that day. If you use other contactless cards or payment methods, your transactions will not be linked.
This is the case even if the payments come from the same account – for example, your phone’s Apple Pay will register as a separate payment method from your watch’s Apple Pay, even if they link to the same bank account.
Do I need to take my card out of my card/wallet?
We recommend you do – if you have more than one contactless card in your wallet, the machine might register and take a payment from each.
What if I’m crossing the Devon/Cornwall boundary?
All travel within the county of Cornwall with participating bus operators – including Plymouth Citybus – will be capped at the day or week ticket price as appropriate.
If you travel between Devon and Cornwall, or travel wholly within Devon, you will be capped at the equivalent Plymouth Citybus day or week zonal ticket. For example, if you travel between Saltash and Royal Parade, you will only be charged the equivalent Zone 1-2 day or week cap.
If you have any questions that aren't answered here, you can email [email protected] and we'll do our best to help.
What happens if I tap on by mistake?
The driver will be able to see when you tap on, and will be able to cancel one of the taps.
What happens if I forget to tap off?
You will be charged the single fare to the end of the route, and any capping will be applied as if you have travelled to the end of the route. This is why it’s important to remember to tap off at the end of each journey. If you do forget to tap off and are overcharged as a result, please contact the customer experience team on [email protected]
How will it appear on my bank statement?
You will see a charge to your bank account from Plymouth CityBus. You will see one charge for each journey that is made, and the total added together will be no more than the cost of a day ticket. Any journeys that are made after you reach the day or week cap will not be charged, so you will not see a transaction for these journeys.
What if I get asked to use my PIN?
Our machines don’t have the facility for you to put in your PIN – simply tap.
Why has my card stopped working?
Sometimes your card won't be accepted, even though you've used it before to travel on our services.
This could be because of unpaid fares.
Sometimes your card may be accepted by our card readers, but the payment is declined by your card issuer.
If this happens your journey will not have been paid for, and you won’t be able to use your card for Tap & Cap until the unpaid fare has been paid.
How do I pay my unpaid fare?
To resolve an unpaid fare which is blocking your payment method from working for Tap & Cap, please contact the customer experience team on [email protected]
Why doesn’t my new bank card work?
If you have a new or replacement contactless card, you might not be able to make a contactless payment until you've made your first chip and PIN transaction. This is a security measure applied by your card issuer.
Also check the 'Valid From' date to make sure it's ready to be used.
My card works at other retailers but not on Tap & Cap, why?
If you can make chip and PIN transactions with your card but it's not working for travel on our services, it may be because:
- Your card wasn't issued in the UK - some contactless cards issued outside the UK aren't accepted on our services
- Your card isn't contactless - it doesn't display the contactless payment symbol.
Who can help if my card is damaged or has expired?
You'll need to contact your card issuer if your card is damaged and no longer recognised by card readers, or has expired.