Passenger extends partnership with Blackpool Transport to 2029 in five-year contract renewal

Bus and tram operator Blackpool Transport has renewed its contract with Passenger, the UK’s leading digital transport services provider, for five years, taking the long-running partnership to 2029.

With over 100 years of heritage, Blackpool Transport carries 5.2 million customers annually. Blackpool Transport first began working with Passenger in 2017. Since then, hundreds of thousands of customers have used the BPL Transport app and website to travel across the town and its surrounding areas every week.

Over the last seven years, Blackpool Transport has delivered a revitalised, modern and accessible network. Since working with Passenger, they have seen a year-on-year increase in child ticket sales after introducing ticket gifting and greater customer confidence after implementing live bus tracking. Their digital services now include contact-free verifications for students and other discount ticket holders and a travel portal providing discounted travel schemes for local businesses.

James Clough, Finance Director at Blackpool Transport comments, “We’re delighted with our experience with Passenger. The team are smart, thoughtful and work hard to deliver the best results for our customers. The five-year renewal underscores the satisfaction and confidence that we have in Passenger’s ability to deliver innovation and exceptional support. We couldn’t be happier to extend the partnership.”

Blackpool Transport and Passenger continue to innovate. In September 2022, Blackpool introduced Passenger’s multi-modal Contactless Journeys capability to support the launch of daily fare capping for its customers. This means that when they pay by contactless onboard, single fares are capped to the price of a day ticket. No matter how many journeys a customer makes in a single day. The strategy proved to be a great example of how operators can deliver a customer experience that puts riders first, providing a high level of visibility on how capping is applied to a customer’s journeys — all from familiar and highly trusted touchpoints — the operator’s own app and website.

Passenger CEO, Tom Quay, comments, “I am delighted that Blackpool Transport has chosen to extend their partnership with us once again. Over the past seven years, we’ve not only met but exceeded expectations, demonstrating the strength of our offer and the continued dedication of our team. This renewal is a testament to the trust and mutual success that define our relationship with Blackpool Transport. My thanks to Jane, James, Karen, and the team for being such a great client to work with. I look forward to continuing to drive growth and attracting new customers to use public transport in Blackpool.”

Already in 2024, Passenger has launched a brand new online training platform and fares information capability into the Blackpool app and website. The training platform, Passenger Academy, supports new operator staff in getting to grips with the software that manages the apps and website, Passenger Cloud, which is used daily by the team at Blackpool. The new fares capability supports riders in finding out how much their journey will cost before catching the bus — a UK first for bus company apps.

The journey that began in 2017 has entered a new chapter, and Passenger looks forward to the next five years of innovation, growth, and shared accomplishments with Blackpool Transport.