When Apple Pay came to the UK, it also came to the London transport system, in partnership
with TFL. This allowed Apple users to be able to use the payment service in place of a
traditional Oyster Card or contactless debit or credit card.
Now, Apple seems to want to take that further with Express Transit. This feature allows those riding the London transport system to pay for their journey without needing to wake or authenticate a payment with Touch ID or Face ID.
In a statement shared with The Verge, a TFL spokesperson said “[Transport for London is] having positive discussions with Apple about enabling Express Transit on Apple devices on the TfL network”, simply stating the feature will be available at a “future date”.
Rumours have said that the feature will be rolled out in the coming months. Perhaps it may be mentioned at the upcoming WWDC 2019 conference next week?
Express Transit can be used on the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus or later, and Apple
Watch Series 1 and 2 or later. iPhone XS and XS Max, along with the XR can use the feature
whilst within power reserve mode.
It was introduced within the iOS 12.3 update which was rolled out earlier this month. Cities like Shanghai, Portland, and New York City from this Friday, so London would not be alone with
adopting Express Transit.