Posted on October 26, 2022
- Survey finds 95% of consumers in Egypt either strongly or somewhat expect transit to offer contactless payment options
Visa today announced the results of its second annual Future of Urban Mobility Survey, which uncovered a desire for change among transit users in Egypt.
The survey was conducted in May 2022 among 1000 adults in Egypt and aims to better understand what matters to transit users today – and what they want the future of transit to look like. The survey included questions about how often they use public transit, why they use it, and what they expect in terms of new payment methods.
“In cities across the globe, people are venturing out again after a more than two-year hiatus,” Essam El Daly, Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring Sector for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan at Visa, says . “Public transit has always been a vital part of how people get to work or school, run errands, and travel to leisure activities. Now the pandemic has pushed many riders to challenge the status quo when it comes to how they pay their fares.”
Shifting preferences
The speed, security, and ease of digital payments have helped shift global transit user’s payment preferences. In Egypt, the Future of Urban Mobility Survey found that 95% of those surveyed either strongly or somewhat expect contactless payment options to be available on public transit.
Further, 52% of respondents in Egypt said they are most likely to pay their transit fare through contactless payments.
Contactless payments continue to help riders navigate the future of transit.
Respondents in Egypt said the top benefits of contactless payments were the time saved due to faster transactions (37%), reduced contact with surfaces and other people (37%), less worry over carrying enough cash (31%), and convenience (30%).
The survey found that (31%) of public transit riders in Egypt cited contactless payments as the top feature that would entice them to use public transit.
Among employed riders in Egypt, 39% of riders said they take public transit at least three times a week, and 32% ride five times a week or more. Additionally, 55% of those surveyed in Egypt plan to use transit more often over the next 12 months. As ridership continues to ramp up, it will be important that paying to ride is secure and seamless.
Fare-capping attracts riders
Payment options such as fare-capping represent an important opportunity for transit operators to serve as many riders as possible. Fare-capping limits how much a rider pays for their total rides in a day, week, or month, eliminating the need to tie up funds on a monthly pass or transit-dedicated card. Among survey respondents in Egypt, 37% said that capped fares would encourage them to take public transit more often than a non-fare capped system.
In the same survey, 40% of riders in Egypt ranked faster journey times as a top motivator that would encourage them to use transit more often. Fare capping can help speed up the boarding process by alleviating confusion over how to pay for newer riders.
Sustainability is driving ridership
Why do riders prefer public transit? Of those surveyed in Egypt, 93% said that sustainability and the environment were a factor in how often they decide to travel by transit, and it was the top reason for 47%.
Contactless rollouts increasing
Open transit systems help city residents sustain their livelihoods, connect to services and pursue activities that create a vibrant city life. Visa supports global transit operators to deliver digital tools to draw in more passengers and improve the overall experience. In Q2 of this year Visa and our transit partners rolled out 50 new projects worldwide, from Thailand to Japan to Mexico and beyond, to enable riders to simply tap their contactless credit, debit, prepaid card, or payment-enabled device, without needing to purchase or load a separate transit card or handle cash while boarding.
For example, a pilot project in Izmir, Turkey, this year enabled passengers to pay with contactless domestic and foreign credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards.
An economic lifeline for millions
The Future of Urban Mobility Survey also shows how public transit is an economic lifeline for millions of people around the world In Egypt, 36% of respondents said public transit is their primary form of transportation. For 48% in Egypt public transit is how they commute to and from work.
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