Consumers who regularly travel on the
Underground in the UK began receiving push
notifications on their iPhones and Apple
Watches earlier in the week, confirming that
the Express Mode would work across all of
Transport for London’s key services, including
the Underground tube network, as well as buses
and trams across London that accept Oysters.
In order to use the new Express Mode,
customers simply need to look for the yellow
contactless card reader and scan their phone or
Apple Watch, though they must set up the new
technology beforehand. Anyone with an iPhone
6S or above can take advantage by heading to
their Settings menu, scrolling to Wallet & Apple
Pay, tapping Express Travel Card, and choosing
a preferred card, and future journeys will be
invoiced to that card. It’s also possible to set up
Express Mode for Apple Watch, removing the
need to double click the side button to turn on
Apple Pay mode. Instead, users can hold their
watch to the terminal.
Of course, it’s important to note that Express
Mode is less secure than the usual Apple Pay
method - anyone who has access to your Apple
Watch or iPhone will be able to pay for their
journey using the device, though Face ID and
Touch ID would still be required for all other
Apple Pay purchases, whether that’s a quick
coffee before work or the weekly grocery haul.
And if you’re running low on juice, Apple has
a solution. On the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max,
iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone
11 Pro Max, users can switch to power reserve
with their Express Transit cards, enabling them
to quickly pay for rides. Apple says that this