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

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Ev 164 Transport Committee: Evidence Overall, the current system is overly complex <strong>and</strong> expensive <strong>and</strong> does not suYciently integrate across bus, train, <strong>and</strong> tram modes, <strong>and</strong> across county boundaries. This last point is especially relevant to local trains where there is a big diVerence in ticket prices on travel from Greenfield to Manchester (£3.45 st<strong>and</strong>ard day single) <strong>and</strong> Marsden to Manchester (£6.50). Marsden is only one station further on from Greenfield but because it’s outside the GMPTA boundary, the price is much more. This leads to people driving to the closer station <strong>and</strong> occurs at other GMPTA boundary stations across the conurbation. There is evidence of similar occurrences in other PTA areas. 2. Does the Government have an adequate strategy for developing the integration of ticketing systems? There does not seem to be a strategy for developing the integration of ticketing systems at Government level. It appears that, outside London, PTAs <strong>and</strong> operators are left to develop their own strategies. As mentioned previously, the commercial nature of public transport means that operators are less inclined to work towards better integration. A Government strategy would be extremely useful <strong>and</strong> could perhaps feed into the Road Transport Bill, where bus regulation is being considered. 3. Is the industry taking up modern smartcard technologies adequately <strong>and</strong> appropriately? GMPTA/E have been in process of developing smart card ticketing for some years. It seems that a system, similar to TFL’s Oystercards, could go some way towards solving the integration issue. The cost of developing these technologies to the correct ITSO st<strong>and</strong>ards is expected to be met by authorities <strong>and</strong> operators <strong>and</strong> this is causing delays in the take up. 4. Does the ITSO system cater for the needs of all passengers <strong>and</strong> travel providers? From my limited underst<strong>and</strong>ing, the principles of ITSO are to allow for integrated ticketing across modes with multiple use <strong>and</strong> purpose. In this way, it could cater for the needs of all passengers <strong>and</strong> providers. 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? It is most important to consult with users prior to implementing smartcards. It’s also important to have a clear legislative <strong>and</strong> policy platform. Revenue Protection <strong>and</strong> The Powers of Ticket Inspectors 6. Is the legal framework within which ticket inspectors’ function appropriate? I am not suYciently informed on this topic to comment. 7. What appeal mechanisms exist for passengers <strong>and</strong> are they adequate? I am not suYciently informed on this topic to comment. 8. Are the rights of passengers <strong>and</strong> the powers of ticket inspectors well-balanced? I am not suYciently informed on this topic to comment specifically however we believe that the law supports the common sense position that if you would be forced to go to unreasonable lengths to purchase a ticket, or are denied an opportunity to purchase a ticket, you should not be fined. Reasonable steps <strong>and</strong> reasonable opportunity for purchasing tickets need to be included in the relevant legislation. Examples of circumstances where we believe it may be reasonable for passengers to travel without a valid ticket include: — Where ticket machines are not working at the start of your journey <strong>and</strong> you are denied an opportunity to purchase a ticket during or after your journey. — Where ticket machines are in exact fare mode <strong>and</strong> you do not have exact change. — Where a bus driver does not have the correct ticket available (eg a cover for a mega rider). — Where a bus driver does not have change available for reasonable denominations presented (eg weekly ticket is £11.50–£20 is presented <strong>and</strong> the bus driver does not have change). — Where an inspector approaches you while you are queuing to use a ticket machine.
9. Do operators of public transport take adequate measures to protect fares revenue? Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 165 Tram operators employ inspectors to regularly check tickets whilst rail operators have conductors. These measures appear adequate for protecting fare revenue. Buses do not appear to have the same consistency of measures. Bus drivers are expected to provide tickets, inspect tickets, <strong>and</strong> question passengers if they have asked for the incorrect ticket. This puts added unnecessary pressure on drivers. Employment of more bus inspectors for protecting fare revenue would assist. <strong>Concessionary</strong> Fares—The Right Strategy? 10. Is the Government’s concessionary fares strategy, including the proposed scheme for concessionary bus travel, adequate? Service users of the local concessionary scheme are very supportive. Bus travel has increased across Greater Manchester since April 2006. Rail <strong>and</strong> tram services have also been incorporated into the local scheme by the authority, providing opportunities for greater integration of travel. This has all been welcomed by the users. The extension of the scheme, expected in April 2008, will provide added benefits of cross boundary travel, local travel in other areas of Engl<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> should increase travel horizons <strong>and</strong> social inclusion. Whilst the strategy has been an overwhelming success for users, it has had some negative impacts on Local Authorities <strong>and</strong> PTAs (<strong>Travel</strong> Concession Authorities or TCAs), other public transport users, commercial operators <strong>and</strong> community transport operators. Under the current guidelines <strong>and</strong> operations, funding is not ring fenced, meaning that TCAs need to agree funding amounts from authorities. TCAs are obliged to ensure that operators are ‘no better or no worse oV’. This concept has led to appeals by over 60 operators <strong>and</strong> led to financial risks to TCAs. Under current arrangements operators are reimbursed for only those journeys that are expected to have been made in the absence of the concessionary scheme. Operators receive nothing for trips that are deemed to have been generated by the scheme, though they can make claims for additional costs to be covered as a result of the rise in dem<strong>and</strong> Community Transport is another area where concessionary fare schemes need to be considered. Given that community transport services are not commercial <strong>and</strong> frequently already operate at capacity, they are not in a position to benefit from the rise in passengers generated by free concessionary fare scheme. The concessions allowed for passengers travelling on community transport should therefore be reimbursed in full. The cost of training people to use their concessionary entitlement (such as people with learning disabilities) should also be covered by the scheme. The logical way forward would be to simplify schemes so that operators received a reimbursement on the basis of the agreed average adult fare for every concessionary passenger carried. The reimbursement would be lower than the average adult fare to prevent operators making super profits <strong>and</strong> to take account of the economies of scale that operators would receive by carrying more passengers. The method for managing schemes needs to be considered in the concessionary fares bill for the national scheme. Other public transport users, particularly children, are disadvantaged by the current scheme. The conclusion of the recent appeals by bus operators, led to concessionary fares in Greater Manchester being raised from 50p to 70p. The impact of this will be felt most by children, the very people that we are trying to encourage to use public transport <strong>and</strong> become lifetime public transport users. The Government needs to consider its strategy <strong>and</strong> consider the costs <strong>and</strong> benefits of incorporating children into the free scheme. 11. Are concessionary fares schemes suYciently integrated across diVerent modes of transport <strong>and</strong> diVerent geographical areas? Greater Manchester has already incorporated rail <strong>and</strong> tram into the local scheme, at a cost to GMPTA. Not all authorities have incorporated all modes, leading to anomalies <strong>and</strong> lack of an integrated approach. In order to provide integration across modes, consideration needs to be given to a multimodal national scheme after April 2008. The issue of diVerent geographical areas should be resolved after April 20008, however the cost of implementing schemes in popular areas, needs consideration to ensure equity for PTAs <strong>and</strong> TCAs. March 2007
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House of Commons Transport Committe
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Contents Report Page 1 Introduction
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4 5. Smartcards offer a range of ne
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6 Integrated bus ticketing 10. Thro
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8 Long distance coach services are
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10 strategy, including those in the
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12 long-distance rail passengers ma
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14 services have not been put in pl
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16 Oyster on rail services in Londo
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18 4 Revenue protection and
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20 Staff safety 61. Transport staff
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22 66. An integrated ticketing syst
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24 Transport should commission an e
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26 concession authorities that attr
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28 operators and a
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30 List of recommendations Integrat
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32 Concessionary t
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34 Formal Minutes Clive Efford Mrs
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36 List of written evidence 1 Dr Ro
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38 List of Reports from the Committ
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Oral evidence Taken before the Tran
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14 November 2007 Mr Chris Austin, M
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Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 11
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14 November 2007 Mr Keith Halstead
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definition of severe disability <st
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about how the data on the smartcard
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things around it. We have got over
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which comes out of the usage of the
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5 December 2007 Mr Manuel Cortes, M
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Mr Harris: I am sorry, I am not goi
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12 December 2007 Mr Tom Harris MP <
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Q464 Chairman: Is Transport Direct
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3.2 Conclusion—Smartcard St<stron
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