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

Ev 156 Transport Committee: Evidence
The Use of Smartcard Technologies
Is the industry taking up modern smartcard technologies adequately <strong>and</strong> appropriately?
Although the rollout of the schemes could be happening faster, the industry is now taking up smartcards.
Merseytravel believes that take-up would be quicker were the scheme funded in a similar way to the Scottish
transport card, which is fully funded by the Scottish Executive.
The industry is now embracing smartcards, mainly due to the publication of the ITSO specification. Many
of the business cases need some pump priming, consequently, adding to the delay in implementing the initial
scheme. If the right choices are made for the English National <strong>Concessionary</strong> <strong>Travel</strong> Scheme (ENCTS) then
this will open massive opportunities for smartcard ticketing. The diagram below demonstrates the possible
enhancement path which could follow an ITSO compliant roll out of Smartcards.
Environment
Launch Pad
Partners
St<strong>and</strong>ard s
Vision
Vision – becoming reality
Plethora of
delivery
channels
Transport Entitlement
Concessions Tickets
Education Tourism Access
Attainments Welfare Virtual/ Physical
Evolving applications that mirror the
requirements of the smartcard holder.
In establishing ENCTS, it is important that the DfT does not specify the actual type of smartcard to be
used as to do so would stifle the market response. Instead they should specify their requirements in brief for
the functionality of the card, for example:
— Must be ITSO compliant.
— Must support other applications both within <strong>and</strong> alongside ITSO.
— Must be secure enough to support applications such as E purse on a national basis.
In adopting this approach the DfT will enable (by eVectively a pump priming mechanism) the vision of
smartcards into the future <strong>and</strong> their potential role as citizen or entitlement cards.
This approach will require a smartcard which is at the higher end of the technology range <strong>and</strong> therefore
will come at a higher price. This additional cost is however marginal within the entirety of ENCTS <strong>and</strong> will
be far outweighed by the future benefits. Indeed it may be possible to recoup that cost (<strong>and</strong> more) by “renting
out the card real estate” to, say, a national E-purse. The DfT should allow, even encourage, the market to
be creative in this respect.
Does the ITSO system cater for the needs of all passengers <strong>and</strong> travel providers?
Merseytravel believes that the ITSO system is a living document <strong>and</strong> as such is versatile, valuable, cost
eYcient <strong>and</strong> user friendly. ITSO does not discriminate between suppliers, is not manufacturer specific <strong>and</strong>
does not restrict travel to the conceptual boundaries put in place by local administration or the structure of
ownership <strong>and</strong> operation of transport modes. The ITSO specification allows smartcards to be issued across
a range of partners, using any form of co-br<strong>and</strong>ing while at the same time oVering certainty about the
interoperability of the card in other areas.
ITSO oVers a highly secure ticketing system. The Department for Transport commissioned a report into
the relative security levels of TfL’s Oyster card system <strong>and</strong> ITSO that showed that, while Oyster was
suYciently secure in a closed environment, only ITSO provided the security levels needed for national
interoperable activities.