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

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

publications.parliament.uk
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19.01.2013 Views

1 Introduction 1. On 1 April 2008 the English national concessionary travel scheme will be launched, giving free national bus travel to older ong>andong> disabled people in Englong>andong>. This provides an opportunity for the Government ong>andong> transport operators to take a major step towards integrated ticketing, with the introduction of smartcard concessionary travel passes throughout Englong>andong>. We have, therefore, inquired into the extent to which integrated ticketing on public transport has been achieved for all users; the issues regarding smartcards; arrangements for revenue protection (stopping fare-evasion) which will be affected by new forms of ticket; ong>andong> the impact of concessionary travel in Englong>andong> which is costing £1 billion per annum. We have not looked at fare levels as this issue was addressed in our previous report How fair are the fares? 1 2. The history of public transport conjures up images of machines ong>andong> infrastructure— Brunel’s Great Western Railway with its engines, tunnels ong>andong> bridges; the London Routemaster bus; the reintroduction of trams in Manchester; ong>andong>, more recently, St Pancras International Station ong>andong> High Speed 1. By contrast, the humble ticket rarely gains a mention. Yet ticketing arrangements are just as important as vehicles ong>andong> infrastructure from the passenger’s point of view. How ong>andong> where tickets are sold, whether different tickets are needed for different stages of a journey ong>andong> the form that the ticket takes, all have a bearing on individuals’ travel choices. The Government recognised this in its 1998 White Paper, A New Deal for Transport – Better for Everyone, which proposed more through-ticketing ong>andong> easier ticketing arrangements as a central part of its strategy for raising the stong>andong>ard of public transport. 2 3. ong>Ticketingong> is an area which has seen rapid change in recent years: paper tickets served the railways for 150 years ong>andong> the magnetic stripe ticket for 30 years. 3 Contactless smartcards, usually in the form of a plastic card with an embedded chip that can be read without being inserted into a machine, have been in use for around 10 years ong>andong> in London the Oyster card is now commonplace. However, even these systems are being challenged by new technologies, such as ticketing chips or screen displays in mobile phones ong>andong> combined travel, credit ong>andong> bank cards. 4 We are grateful to Transys, who operate the Oyster system 5 on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), for showing us some of this new technology, as well as giving us a demonstration of the Oyster system. 4. The latest rail franchises have varying commitments to introduce smartcard ticketing, ong>andong> arrangements are in hong>andong> to extend the Oyster Pay-as-you-Go system throughout the National Rail network in London by 2010. It is already available on some routes. A zonal fares structure has been introduced ong>andong> station equipment to facilitate smartcard use is to be installed, including ticket gates at Waterloo. 1 Transport Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2005–06, How fair are the fares? Train fares ong>andong> ticketing, HC 700 2 Department of Environment, Transport ong>andong> the Regions, A New Deal for Transport – Better for Everyone, Cm 3950, July 1998 3 Q 71 4 The Barclaycard “OnePulse” card combines Oyster, a credit card ong>andong> a cashless payment card. In November 2007, the mobile phone operator O2 launched a trial of 500 telephones with embedded Oyster cards. 5 See Section 3 for an explanation of Oyster 3

4 5. Smartcards offer a range of new possibilities but it is important to remember that integrated ticketing ong>andong> smartcards are separate, though related, issues. Greater integration can be achieved without smartcards ong>andong> smartcards do not, in themselves, produce integrated ticketing arrangements. Technology must be the servant ong>andong> not the master, assisting with the implementation of policy, not dictating its direction.

4<br />

5. Smartcards offer a range of new possibilities but it is important to remember that<br />

integrated ticketing <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> smartcards are separate, though related, issues. Greater integrati<strong>on</strong><br />

can be achieved without smartcards <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> smartcards do not, in themselves, produce<br />

integrated ticketing arrangements. Technology must be the servant <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> not the master,<br />

assisting with the implementati<strong>on</strong> of policy, not dictating its directi<strong>on</strong>.

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