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

Ev 132 Transport Committee: Evidence
Range of Requirements. Smartcards will have the greatest benefit in urban areas, where the need for
integrated ticketing is highest. Electronic ticketing <strong>and</strong> ticketing via mobile phone is a passenger requirement
for longer distance or less frequent journeys. It also means that a better service can be provided for
passengers using smaller stations that are unstaVed, without needing equipment that is expensive <strong>and</strong> prone
to v<strong>and</strong>alism.
The issues for the future are the pace of change, the costs involved <strong>and</strong> the best way of continuing to
provide a good st<strong>and</strong>ard of service at a cost that is aVordable, for the reducing number of passengers that
will be buying paper tickets at stations.
ATOC’s Commitment. ATOC is committed to developing more flexible, consumer-led ticketing, making
use of new technology which allows both improvements for passengers <strong>and</strong> a reduction in the unit costs of
its provision. To support this, train operators have formed an Integrated <strong>Ticketing</strong> Group <strong>and</strong> produce a
regular good practice guide for onward travel. The driving force is the commercial benefits of making
information <strong>and</strong> access to the railway easier for potential customers. It is about providing what the majority
of passengers want, rather than just the development of integrated ticketing.
B. General Questions Raised by the Committee
1. Changes in statutory provisions over the past decade have enabled local authorities <strong>and</strong> other transport
providers to create integrated ticketing schemes. But is it working?
ATOC has developed integrated ticketing further <strong>and</strong> faster than any other transport operator. RSP
operates by far the largest UK Interoperable Fare Management System—ISO 24014-1—<strong>and</strong> has done so
over more than 10 years. Through tickets from National Rail stations are issued to:
— Plusbus to local bus destinations in 195 towns <strong>and</strong> cities throughout Great Britain, from 270
National Rail stations.
— Other bus/tram links: 410 links, including light rail systems.
— Airports: Through ticketing is in place to 29 airports using including bus or metro connections
where necessary.
— London Underground: Tickets priced on a zonal basis within Greater London, for rail/tube
journeys. Add-on tube/DLR tickets are available from National Rail stations to Underground
stations.
— Leisure attractions: 48 destinations such as Alton Towers <strong>and</strong> London Sightseeing tours, as well
as eight heritage railways.
— Shipping Links to: Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Channel Isl<strong>and</strong>s, Scottish Isl<strong>and</strong>s, Northern Irel<strong>and</strong>,
Irel<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> France <strong>and</strong> the Netherl<strong>and</strong>s (by sea).
— Rail Rovers: National, regional <strong>and</strong> line rover or ranger tickets. Some of these include bus <strong>and</strong>
heritage rail services. (eg North York Moors Moorslink train/bus network).
PTEs: Train operators also work with PTEs to provide multi-mode tickets within their areas.
European Railways: International tickets are no longer h<strong>and</strong>led at National Rail stations, but, as with
airlines, can be booked at agencies or on line.
Plusbus <strong>and</strong> other bus/rail through ticketing already allows multi mode journeys to be made with a single
transaction. Example: Oxford (Banbury Road) to Brighton (Saltdean) can be made with a ticket covering the
bus to Oxford station, train to Paddington, Underground to Victoria, train to Brighton <strong>and</strong> bus from Brighton
station to Saltdean. Such tickets are not only accepted by all the operators concerned, but are encoded to
operate the barriers at main line stations <strong>and</strong> on the Underground. Plusbus is run by Journey Solutions, a
partnership between bus <strong>and</strong> rail operators, including ATOC <strong>and</strong> the Confederation of Passenger
Transport. It will be extended to a further 21 towns <strong>and</strong> cities in May, increasing the total to 216.
85% of rail journeys are made on one train, <strong>and</strong> 15% involve a change of train at some stage during the
journey. (In Scotl<strong>and</strong>, only 11% of journeys involve a change of train). Plusbus ticket sales are running at
a level 45% higher than a year ago, although the total number sold since April 2006 is relatively low at 60,000
tickets. Given this growth rate, advertising <strong>and</strong> extension of the number of destinations covered, further
substantial growth is expected.
Frequent <strong>and</strong> short notice changes in bus timetables are a practical constraint in providing supporting
travel information to passengers although they do not normally aVect integrated ticketing. A process more
aligned to railway timetable change dates (which are set by European timetabling considerations) may help
to improve the reliability of information to passengers.