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

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 127
— Back oYce systems such as fraud analysis, financial reconciliation <strong>and</strong> settlement, although some
of these issues are now being addressed under the association of ITSO licensed operators.
4.3 TranSys supports the objectives of ITSO, which oVer the prospect of greater convenience for
passengers. TranSys has contributed to the development of the ITSO system <strong>and</strong> London’s Oyster card
equipment can be made to be compatible with the ITSO system, although this will be at a significant
financial cost.
4.4 However, there is no fully functional intermodal (rail) ITSO card system in place yet <strong>and</strong> the system
is somewhat unproven, particularly in a rail environment. In our view the most important objective is to
enable interoperability for as many travellers who require it as possible at the lowest cost. A high proportion
of all UK rail journeys are either wholly within or start or end in London. In addition, a very high proportion
of the heavy rail journeys that start or end in London involve a journey segment on Transport for London’s
bus or Underground services. Therefore the biggest issue to be addressed is interoperability between
National Rail <strong>and</strong> Transport for London (ie Oyster).
4.5 Passengers <strong>and</strong> transport operators in London will be keen that an ITSO card is suitable for use in
the high density high performance London transport environment. This is important not only because 70%
of all rail journeys start or finish in London, but also because of the need to keep London moving.
4.6 Beyond London, the next strongest c<strong>and</strong>idates for integrated ticketing are (1) travel in <strong>and</strong> around
the major UK cities <strong>and</strong> large towns, <strong>and</strong> (2) some extension of Oyster into the Home Counties. This is based
on the relative volumes of passenger transport use in dense urban areas, <strong>and</strong> the ability to enlarge the Oyster
catchment. Our comments in para 2.4 apply, to ensure delivery of such initiatives.
5. What can be learned from the experiences of areas such as London <strong>and</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong> where smartcard technology
is already in place?
5.1 TranSys can only provide an answer in relation to London.
5.2 The experience in London shows that smartcard technologies work <strong>and</strong> are popular with customers.
7.6 million journeys a day are made using Oyster, allowing passengers to use five diVerent modes of transport
on a single ticket. 80% of all journeys on London’s Underground <strong>and</strong> buses are paid by Oyster card. This
is by far the largest smartcard scheme fully operational in the UK <strong>and</strong> is one of the largest in the world.
5.3 Smartcard transaction performance times are extremely important—the shorter the transaction time,
the higher the first time read reliability will be <strong>and</strong> the higher the validation throughput will be. Fast, reliable
Oyster transactions have helped increase passenger flows through Underground ticket gates <strong>and</strong> helped to
reduce Bus boarding time, which in turn, has helped to reduce congestion <strong>and</strong> helped to deliver timetable
eYciencies.
5.4 The key lessons from London are:
— That smartcard technology works. It works reliably when the system is well specified, designed <strong>and</strong>
maintained by a competent, experienced, system integrator <strong>and</strong> hardware provider. It is low risk.
— Agree a specification <strong>and</strong> don’t change it.
— Set clear business goals.
— PFI contracts can work eYciently between Government, Operators <strong>and</strong> Contractors with
appropriate risk sharing.
— A phased roll-out ensured the system was suYciently tested (from both a technical <strong>and</strong> a customer
perspective), facilitating the introduction of the smartcard in a way that did not inconvenience or
disadvantage the customer.
— Passengers like it. Almost 10 million cards have been issued since 2002.
5.5 Passengers like it because:
— Cards can be issued <strong>and</strong> renewed more conveniently, not only from ticket oYces but also at retail
outlets, by phone, over the internet or by auto-load i.e. once issued with a card passengers never
need to visit a ticket oYce again.
— The system provides peace of mind that it will always charge the equivalent of a “best fare” for the
journey taken i.e. end-to-end journey discounts, daily, weekly <strong>and</strong> monthly capping options.
— No need to carry money or have the correct change.
— No need to underst<strong>and</strong> complex fare tables.
— The card can be kept in a purse or wallet <strong>and</strong> does not need to be inserted in a slot to be read.
— The system can provide security against loss or theft, if the card is personalised <strong>and</strong> registered with
the operator.
5.6 Transport Operators like it, because:
— It provides more comprehensive data on revenue <strong>and</strong> usage by time of day, origin <strong>and</strong> destination,
class of travel etc.