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TICKETING


Rail booking and station environments are learning vital lessons from the retail sector, argues Nick Chisnall, account director at Rail Business Fujistu.


T


he retail sector has for years focused on providing fast, efficient, and con-


venient service. Now similar ways of deliv- ering improved levels of customer service are finding their way into rail booking and rail station environments.


Driving the change are consumers, who have high expectations of their retailers thanks to the customer experience pro- vided by high street and internet shopping, where competition to gain customer loyal- ty and engagement has never been fiercer.


In the rail sector, achieving a higher level of customer service will require robust re- tailing systems which speed enquiry han- dling, payments and ticket issuing for pas- sengers – ideally with the ability to handle both rail tickets and retail sales from one terminal.


Fujitsu is one company which is bringing its experience in global retail to the rail sector. Its STAR ticket office solution pro- vides a joined-up means of dealing with enquiries, ticket sales, voucher fulfilment, advance bookings, after sales and more. This modern retail system provides faster service, automates business processes such as cash management and delivers better quality information, such as reporting on key areas of business performance.


It’s also easy to implement. Fujitsu’s solu- tion combines all the necessary hardware and software, yet remains an ‘open system’ so it can be integrated with the other in- dustry standard components rail opera- tors own, such as ticket printers and smart card or ticketless travel applications.


A ticket office and more


Merseyrail have already invested in Fujitsu’s system, specifically to support the sales of other retail merchandise. As a result, many of their stations have evolved into something spectacular – innovative walk-in convenience stores, which have an airy and modular ‘open counter’ design that can vary with the size of the station.


Called M to Go, the first store opened at Moorfields in July 2006, with further stores opening at Hamilton Square and


Southport stations (2007), Liverpool Central (2009) and Hooton and Waterloo (2010). The operator now sells the full range of Merseyrail and national rail tick- ets together with hot and cold beverages, sandwiches and pastries, sweets and other convenience items.


Since the core of the operation remains ticket sales, Merseyrail’s own staff runs M to Go. In comparison to the previous ticket office, more service staff are now available, and the retail units remain open from the first to last train running. This makes the shop convenient for passengers, improves the station environment and introduces extra jobs for rail staff.


Bart Schmeink, Merseyrail’s managing di- rector, said of the Waterloo opening: “This new M to Go transforms Waterloo station’s outdated, unwelcoming and dingy booking office into a modern, customer friendly and high quality shop.”


Station and staff enhancement


Merseyrail stresses that the M to Go con- cept stems from a desire to add value to the customer experience, but they also say it’s doing more than that. It has enhanced the station environment overall and the in- creased staffing levels have improved the overall perception of security.


The roll out of M to Go resulted in the satisfaction rating for station facilities and services in the Spring 2010 National Passenger Survey more than doubling from its 2005 level of 23% to 55%. The ‘overall satisfaction rating’ for Merseyrail has gone up from 87% in 2004 to 93% in 2010.


Merseyrail also believes M to Go has a pos- itive impact on staff, making their working days more varied due to the need to re- fresh displays, while also enabling a closer interaction with customers now that staff are out from behind ticket counters.


Merseyrail is planning three more stations to be converted to M to Go stores during 2011. It’s clear evidence that retail and rail can go hand in hand, provided that the technology exists to integrate the sale of rail tickets and convenience products with a single financial transaction.


Fujitsu ticket machines and till scanners do exactly that, which means rail passen- gers in a hurry can now take more than just a ticket on their journey.


FOR MORE INFORMATION For more on M to Go visit www. merseyrail.org/about-us/401/mtogo.html


For information on Fujitsu rail solutions, visit www.fujitsu.com/uk/industries/rail


rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11 | 67


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