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

Ev 124 Transport Committee: Evidence
1.4 The term “integrated ticketing” needs to be commonly understood by <strong>and</strong> from a passenger’s
perspective. TranSys’ experience in London tells us that passengers want:
(a) Convenience—one ticket covers all modes of travel—easily purchased without queuing from a
wide range of retail <strong>and</strong> other channels that suit the passengers’ preference.
(b) Value—the ticketing system will succeed if it provides best value, i.e. discounts, capping or loyalty
benefits without the passenger having to be an expert in ticketing <strong>and</strong> fare rules. These benefits are
most eVectively delivered by a smartcard system with “pay-as-you-go” capability that “caps” a
passenger’s fare to be equivalent to a best value fare.
(c) Security—the ticketing system <strong>and</strong> the supporting infrastructure must be trusted by the passenger,
particularly so where the passengers “stored value money” of a “pay-as-you-go” capability is
concerned.
(d) Non-intrusive—anonymous if the passenger so chooses.
(e) Equipment that works—reliable <strong>and</strong> user-friendly.
1.5 The term “integrated ticketing” also needs to be understood from a policy maker’s perspective.
Issues to be addressed include: what is the scope in terms of the modes of travel? Which operators are to be
included from day one <strong>and</strong> what might be added at a later date? Who will have control during
implementation to ensure that resolution of emerging issues <strong>and</strong> who will manage change over time?
1.6 At present, data on National Rail travel usage is derived from manually conducted twice annual
passenger count surveys which are used basically for revenue allocation. These are inaccurate, ineYcient,
partial <strong>and</strong> expensive. An integrated smartcard ticketing system would transform this for policy makers <strong>and</strong>
oVer real benefits:
— real <strong>and</strong> accurate data on usage <strong>and</strong> time of usage, assisting with dem<strong>and</strong> management planning
<strong>and</strong> the planning of service frequency; <strong>and</strong>
— data on origin <strong>and</strong> destination of journeys, which can be very useful in optimising capacity
planning <strong>and</strong> thereby reducing energy <strong>and</strong> carbon emissions.
Integration in London
1.7 Within London, ticketing has become highly integrated (a single ticket for Underground, bus, DLR,
<strong>and</strong> tram services). The present gap in London is for those passengers travelling to London on national rail
tickets, especially from south London <strong>and</strong> from the wider South East region. Although the system is not
fully integrated, the introduction of national rail zoned fares within London <strong>and</strong> the outline agreement in
January 2007 of TOCs operating in London to accept Oyster PAYG will integrate the London transport
system even further. It has not yet been determined by transport operators <strong>and</strong> transport specifiers (PTEs,
Department for Transport) how far this ticketing integration will extend beyond Greater London Authority
(GLA) boundaries. The Department for Transport is due to approve shortly the extent to which the Mayor
of London will be granted powers to specify rail services <strong>and</strong> potentially fares in areas beyond the Greater
London boundary.
1.8 The transport pressures in London are unique. About 70 per cent of all rail journeys in Britain either
start or finish in London. The PRESTIGE contract was designed to ensure that London has a ticketing
system that enables it to cope with heavy peak traYc loads. The Oyster smartcard system is an example of
an integrated ticketing system that can h<strong>and</strong>le thous<strong>and</strong>s of passengers every minute <strong>and</strong> millions of
passengers each day, <strong>and</strong> which allows Londoners to travel around the Capital on diVerent modes with
greater ease.
1.9 Transport for London’s T2025 document anticipates that the predicted employment <strong>and</strong> population
growth in London will result in a 30% increase in public transport passenger km travelled in the morning
peak by 2025. 25 The speed of the Oyster smartcard allows 40 people a minute to pass through a ticket barrier,
which is critical at times of peak passenger flow through busy stations.
1.10 An integrated ticketing system would need to recognise the particular conditions in London if it was
to be compatible with London’s system <strong>and</strong> not cause delays <strong>and</strong> blockages at mainline terminals <strong>and</strong> major
interchanges throughout London. It must be able to safely, speedily <strong>and</strong> faultlessly h<strong>and</strong>le thous<strong>and</strong>s of
passengers arriving at a station within a short time (eg due to simultaneous peak hour train arrivals on
several platforms, which may unload several thous<strong>and</strong> people in a couple of minutes).
1.11 The further roll-out of Oyster Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) to national rail services in London raises
the proposition of how far integration should extend out of London to a commuter’s journey starting
point—for example, onto local bus services in the Home Counties. This is a matter for transport policy <strong>and</strong>
delivery authorities to consider.
25 Transport 2025: Transport Challenges for a growing city, Transport for London, June 2006.