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

Ev 114 Transport Committee: Evidence
2. Does the Government have an adequate strategy for developing the integration of ticketing systems?
We know of no Government strategy whatever for developing such integration, though we think that
there needs to be one.
Use of Smart Card Technologies
3. Is the industry taking up modern smart-card technologies (a) adequately <strong>and</strong> (b) appropriately?
(a) It is virtually impossible for bus or rail users to answer this question in any meaningful sense, apart
from pointing out that, as we see it, the answer is “no”.
Costs must, inevitably, be borne by the operators, who are often involved in damage-limitation
exercises rather than in aggressive marketing of their services. Modest though the extra costs may
be, the element of risk seems too often to rule out innovations of this sort, though it is pleasing to
note a few forthcoming exceptions in the north Lancashire <strong>and</strong> Cheshire areas. The diYculties may
be more imagined than real, in that smart-card technology eases the task of allocating fare income
between operators <strong>and</strong> modes, but there is always the possibility of machine failure, <strong>and</strong>, on buses,
the ensuing inability of a passenger to pay in cash instead <strong>and</strong>/or of a driver to decide how much
money to take for his/her part of the journey.
(b) It follows from the previous answer that this part, too, gets a thumbs-down in most cases. For bususers
forced to wait outside a loading bus for several minutes, often in wind <strong>and</strong> rain, because
tickets must be bought individually <strong>and</strong> often after a lengthy discussion of the exact destination
<strong>and</strong> the fare payable, improvements are vital, <strong>and</strong> could include oV-bus sales of booklets of readypriced
tickets (cf the carnet system in Paris <strong>and</strong> elsewhere), as well as variations on the London
Oyster card system. Carnets could also help for local rail journeys. both to avoid waits at busy
station booking-oYces <strong>and</strong> to speed up the checking/selling of these fares <strong>and</strong> others by train
conductors, especially at peak periods when trains are crowded.
From the ticket-inspecting angle, however, smart-carding seems to present potential problems,
particularly on buses, unless each inspector has very sophisticated <strong>and</strong> reliable checking
machinery. We have recently read of trouble even with some Oyster cards: nothing mechanical is
immune from defects, however rarely they occur.
4. Does the ITSO system cater for the needs of all passengers <strong>and</strong> travel providers?
It would be nice to think that it does, but without more inside information we cannot usefully judge.
However, we think it well worth pointing out that, for passengers, a “smart card” needs to be easy to use,
trustworthy (not recording transactions unknown to its holder, for instance), <strong>and</strong> of a format that clearly
shows the holder <strong>and</strong> any inspecting staV what has been charged, for what journey, <strong>and</strong> at what time.
5. What can be learned from the experience of areas such as London <strong>and</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong>, where smart-card
technology is already in place?
That, given a political will, <strong>and</strong> a willingness to see public transport of all types as a public service, not a
profiteering exercise, a smart-card system can bring considerable benefit to all—quicker bus-loading, easier
payment-methods, fewer booking-oYce staV in some instances, <strong>and</strong> smooth transfer between travel modes
regardless of the order <strong>and</strong> the length of each stage of a complex journey. If the use of a smart card is also
shown to save the passenger money, compared to the previous method involving paper tickets <strong>and</strong> frequent
recourse to h<strong>and</strong>ling cash on starting each stage of a journey, so much the better for all concerned. Yet, in
the North-East, even comparatively predictable schools traYc, on buses laid on specifically for it, still has
to queue up morning <strong>and</strong> evening ro pay a single fare—a procedure that must be persuading the next
generation to avoid buses like the plague once they have left school.
Revenue Protection <strong>and</strong> the Powers of Ticket Inspectors
6. Is the legal framework within which ticket-inspectors function appropriate?
It would help all concerned, we think, if the full, up-to-date nature of this legal framework were clarified
<strong>and</strong> publicised to all who use <strong>and</strong> operate buses, trams <strong>and</strong> trains. For instance, some of the small print
regarding reduced rail fares booked aboard trains is confusing. Those boarding at unstaVed stations can
claim every discount that any rail operator oVers; but, if they have boarded at a station that has had a
booking-oYce open at the time, their entitlement is much reduced. A passenger has more to think about
when catching a train than booking-oYce facilities at his/her starting-station; many train-conductors
recognise this <strong>and</strong> use discretion in issuing reduced-rate tickets from staVed stations. If a rule of this sort