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

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Ev 174 Transport Committee: Evidence Where bus-based readers have not been installed smartcards could simply be shown to the driver like ordinary “flash-passes”. But as full smart ticketing is rolled out it would provide much more detailed information about concessionary travel. This would also help in the on-going reform of the existing system to address, for example, disagreements over reimbursement. The Use of Smart Card Technologies Is the industry taking up modern smartcard technologies adequately <strong>and</strong> appropriately? 26. Early smartcard implementations were bespoke systems, the largest of which was London’s Oystercard. Others include Local Authority concessionary schemes, Nottinghamshire, Hertfordshire <strong>and</strong> a few commercial operations <strong>and</strong> trials, for example First Bradford <strong>and</strong> the Cheshire County Council stored value scheme. These developments raised the awareness of the potential that smartcard based technologies could oVer public transport ticketing but highlighted the need to work together to deliver an integrated ticketing system. 27. The development of the harmonised ITSO smartcard st<strong>and</strong>ard enables the potential for a wider deployment of the technology with greater competition of supply <strong>and</strong> interoperability of equipment, smartcards <strong>and</strong> services to passengers. However, in the short term, the process may have delayed potential scheme promoters who wished to avoid bespoke solutions. 28. The first implementations of ITSO have been by local authorities, with support from the Department for Transport. The NoWcard scheme in Cumbria <strong>and</strong> Lancashire began live ITSO roll-out in September last year. Cheshire, the first of the three “legacy” schemes migrating to ITSO began incremental live ITSO rollout last November. Nottinghamshire <strong>and</strong> Southampton will follow. The Yorcard pilot in South Yorkshire, which is expected to start by the end of the year, will include the main bus operators in the area along with train services between Doncaster <strong>and</strong> SheYeld. The project will also investigate the issues surrounding new innovative ticketing products <strong>and</strong> citizens’ cards. 29. All new rail franchises include a requirement to introduce ITSO smartcard technologies <strong>and</strong> the Department for Transport is discussing with the rail industry through ATOC <strong>and</strong> RSP the optimal approach to achieving smart card ticketing across the entire rail network. 30. Wales <strong>and</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong> are both developing national ITSO schemes, initially for concessionary travel. In Scotl<strong>and</strong>, 1.4 million cards have been issued <strong>and</strong> a network of 7,000 buses <strong>and</strong> 50 ferries will be equipped within the coming months. The first part of the full scheme went live in Shetl<strong>and</strong> in November 2006. In Wales the four Welsh Transport Consortia are at varying stages of development. Procurement for a Welsh back oYce is currently underway with implementation <strong>and</strong> testing expected during 2007. 31. In contrast to the situation a few years ago, the development of open st<strong>and</strong>ards has opened the market to greater competition. New bus ticketing equipment suppliers are entering the UK market, reinvigorating the competition for bus equipment. In the smartcard back oYce <strong>and</strong> retail services sector, new players are bidding for a share of the new smartcard schemes. Does the ITSO system cater for the needs of all passengers <strong>and</strong> travel providers? 32. The ITSO st<strong>and</strong>ard opens the way to simple through ticketing <strong>and</strong> seamless travel for the individual <strong>and</strong> far more flexible <strong>and</strong> wide-ranging products for suppliers. The st<strong>and</strong>ard covers cards, back oYce communications <strong>and</strong> a framework licence between operators to ensure that passengers can travel seamlessly between neighbouring schemes <strong>and</strong> competing operators. 33. ITSO worked with the transport industry to underst<strong>and</strong> the existing <strong>and</strong> likely future needs for ticketing in public transport <strong>and</strong> beyond. This formed the first phase of the ITSO development to gather objective data on the functional <strong>and</strong> business requirements of the industry. The resultant ITSO specifications include details of products ranging from simple single or return tickets, concessionary products, complex flexible season tickets <strong>and</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> management products. These sophisticated ticketing products oVer the opportunity to introduce pay-as-you-go style tickets with daily, weekly or longer capping, account based products akin to mobile phone contract services, loyalty schemes <strong>and</strong> links to parking or road pricing. The ITSO system also encourages the introduction of new retailing portals of tickets, enabling greater use of web <strong>and</strong> potentially phone based sales. 34. Today the ITSO organisation supports live operational ticketing schemes by maintaining the specifications; managing the registration of schemes <strong>and</strong> ticketing products to ensure consistency across the country; managing a comprehensive security management service delivering a trusted system to the operators <strong>and</strong> authorities; <strong>and</strong> providing a certification service ensuring the competitive supply of smartcards, card readers <strong>and</strong> back oYce services. 35. The ITSO Specifications also cater for European st<strong>and</strong>ards which specify user requirements. Examples here include enabling gate lines to remain open for longer if a passenger requires more time to pass through; changing the language, font or background colour on electronic ticket machines to suit personal requirements or special needs; <strong>and</strong> encouraging consistency of the passenger experience when confronted by the smartcard reader.
Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 175 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? 36. Experience from existing smartcard schemes has shown that smartcards can be both popular with the travelling public <strong>and</strong> eYcient in transport terms. The Department for Transport is currently conducting research reviewing existing schemes to underst<strong>and</strong> what has been achieved, <strong>and</strong> to provide advice for future implementations. 37. London’s Oystercard, which predates ITSO, is the largest smartcard system in the UK which now has 10 million cards. TfL’s strategy in winning public acceptance for Oyster has been to link its convenience as a product with diVerential fares between paper <strong>and</strong> smart tickets. It is also widely available from both transport <strong>and</strong> non transport outlets. TfL have exploited many eYciencies of the technology, reducing dem<strong>and</strong> on ticket oYce staV <strong>and</strong> crowding pressure in ticket halls, freeing up ticketing staV to help passengers out in the station. 38. One of the reasons for Oyster’s rapid success is that it was developed for a limited geographical area under the control of a single Authority. It was developed for the Underground but now covers the TfL network. Experience has shown how important it is to interoperate with mainline rail ticketing. London is central to the transport network, so any integrated ticketing solution should continue to embrace rail because of the high proportion of journeys which begin, end or pass through London. 39. Scotl<strong>and</strong> has opted for ITSO st<strong>and</strong>ard technology, preferring an open system (where there is a choice of suppliers) to bespoke systems. Choices <strong>and</strong> interoperability are seen as very important issues moving forward. The implementation is being done entirely at the Scottish Executive’s expense. The Scottish free concession scheme generates about 160 million journeys per annum, with a budget for 2006–07 of £159 million, <strong>and</strong> smartcards are seen as a key tool in helping to prevent fraud. 40. The Department for Transport has worked closely with scheme promoters to learn best practise for smartcard deployment. The NoWcard scheme has been very successful in developing a partnership between a series of District Councils <strong>and</strong> Local Authorities which benefit from economies of scale <strong>and</strong> agreed phasing of rollout across the bus fleet. Experience in Scotl<strong>and</strong> also showed we must plan a phased rollout of equipment on the bus fleet, allow time to iron out bugs <strong>and</strong> gain support from bus operators. We supported academic research through the University of Newcastle <strong>and</strong> the University of Westminster which separately considered the use of smartcard data to assess travel behaviour <strong>and</strong> the implications for transport planning. A separate study, carried out by Newcastle University for DfT, produced a good practice guide for dem<strong>and</strong> responsive transport services using telematics which considered the potential to link smartcard technologies with dem<strong>and</strong> responsive transport services, helping to integrate them into the wider transport provision. 41. We need to be careful to learn from existing schemes but not to fall into the trap of assuming what works in one situation will work else where. Early schemes were designed to be fit for purpose for the job in h<strong>and</strong> but may not be scaleable. Revenue Protection <strong>and</strong> The Powers of Ticket Inspectors Is the legal framework within which ticket inspectors function appropriate? 42. We are not aware of any serious limitations in the powers within which ticket inspectors function. The Railway Byelaws (which came into operation on 7 July 2005) have existed in a broadly similar form for many years, <strong>and</strong> the Government believes that these byelaws are both reasonable <strong>and</strong> fit for purpose. The byelaws include amongst other things a requirement for passengers to buy a ticket before they travel wherever ticket facilities exist, <strong>and</strong> to give their name <strong>and</strong> address if asked by an authorised person (which might include a ticket inspector), if reasonably suspected of breaching any of the byelaws. The byelaws require a person reasonably believed to be in breach of any byelaw to leave railway premises if asked by an authorised person. If the person fails to desist or leave the premises, they may be removed using reasonable force. Many inspectors have been trained on the Police <strong>and</strong> Criminal Evidence Act, <strong>and</strong> where intent to avoid payment of their fare can be proven, passengers can be prosecuted under the bylaws or under section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage forms the basis of the contract between a passenger <strong>and</strong> the train operators, <strong>and</strong> these have been approved by the Secretary of State. 43. Section 130 of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended) allows the Secretary of State to make regulations regarding the charging of financial penalties (“Penalty Fares”) to passengers unable to show a valid ticket when asked. The Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/576, as amended), made under the Act, in turn allowed the Rail Regulator to make Penalty Fares Rules. The function of making Rules was transferred first to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) by the Transport Act 2000 <strong>and</strong> then back to the Secretary of State by the Railways Act 2005. The Secretary of State has inherited the SRA’s Penalty Fares Rules 2002 <strong>and</strong> Penalty Fares Policy document. 44. All train operators wishing to charge penalty fares must submit a penalty fares scheme to the Secretary of State for approval. Approval will be given if the scheme meets the st<strong>and</strong>ards set out in the policy document.
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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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the impact of their behaviour on ot
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5 December 2007 Mr Manuel Cortes, M
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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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Integrated Transport Memora
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Lostwithiel to Liskeard Transport C
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Is the legal framework within which
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The Use of Smartcard Technologies I
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