Ticketing and Concessionary Travel on Public Transport - United ...

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long-distance rail passengers may not wish to have a high-value ticket included in a
smartcard, which they cannot visually check. The Association of Train Operating
Companies has been involved with ITSO from the outset but it is not convinced that
smartcards are what the public wants for many journeys on National Rail. 34
35. A ticket that can be easily bought, at an acceptable price, <strong>and</strong> widely used has to be
backed by robust customer service arrangements <strong>and</strong> contractual agreements between
multiple parties. The initial investment in the smartcard equipment can be costly but the
greater challenge tends to be the ongoing operation of the system <strong>and</strong> maintaining it to a
st<strong>and</strong>ard that retains the customer’s confidence.
Smartcard ticketing is inherently very, very different from paper ticketing. It is an
invisible medium where people are unable to see the content of what lies inside their
smartcards <strong>and</strong> it raises its own customer service challenge. The biggest customer
service challenge around smartcards is that the customer needs to have absolute
confidence that they will always be charged the right fare <strong>and</strong> that money is not
going to disappear from their cards. 35
36. A single national transport smartcard may seem an attractive proposition but it is
currently impractical. 36 The challenge is therefore to find the right combination of scale,
functionality <strong>and</strong> sophistication at a price that is attractive to the passenger <strong>and</strong> which
provides a worthwhile return on investment (in either commercial or social cost-benefit
terms). An advanced system such as Oyster may be appropriate for London but it would be
unnecessary <strong>and</strong> prohibitively expensive for, say, all buses in rural areas. London shows
that the benefit of smartcards can be significant. But London is a special case, with an
extensive, integrated public transport system, low car-ownership, measures to restrain car
use, a large <strong>and</strong> growing population <strong>and</strong> a strong economy.
37. There are examples of smaller-scale smartcard systems that have been in operation for
several years <strong>and</strong> proven themselves to be viable. Cheshire County Council’s Chester
<strong>Travel</strong>card for buses was established using the powers in the Transport Act 2000 <strong>and</strong> the
Public Transport Schemes Block Exemption Order 2001. 37 Three popular yet incompatible
smartcard schemes also operate in Nottingham. 38
34 Ev 133
35 Q 255 [Mr Verma]
36 Ev 125
37 Ev 192
38 Q 170 [Mr Jones]