“Without purchasing controls in place, the average ticket value can go through the roof”
basket where you can book up to eight trips for up to eight passengers, a single-click suggested fare, and instant ticket-on-departure (TOD) at station ticket machines, rather than having to wait two hours before you could collect a ticket at the station. Evolvi sales director Jon Reeve says developing the shopping basket was complex, due to the need to attribute cost-centre codes for, potentially, up to 64 separate transactions. Pre-trip authorisation is also critical
for driving down costs. “Without purchasing controls in place, the average ticket value can go through the roof,” he says. “The average ticket value booked through Evolvi last year was £60.85 compared to £61 in 2010, despite the introduction of a general 6.2 per cent fares hike at the start of 2011. We can see that more corporates are booking in advance, as the average ticket value in 2009 was £66.”
RECORD YEAR Evolvi notched up a record year in 2011, with a 9 per cent rise in revenue to £286 million and a 10 per cent increase in transactions to 4.7 million. Average ticket values have been kept flat, not only because more people buy advance tickets, but
away. Several major franchises are up for grabs in the next 18 months, including those held by Virgin Trains, First Great Western and the East Coast route. Thetrainline.com was the first online
retailer to introduce a mobile app, but this is aimed at consumers and does not have specific business applications. The new app just introduced by Evolvi is, however, a full business system.
Clare Morrissey, head of account management for Thetrainline.com, says: “For business customers, the phone is good for receiving a bar-coded ticket but not for the end-to-end transaction. Most have laptops on which they can do all the rest. “TOD at station ticket machines is the primary solution. Some large customers have their own ticketing machines on site, but there will be less of a requirement
for these when we roll out plain paper- ticketing. This is only available on CrossCountry trains at present, but other operators will soon follow. Because only advance tickets can be printed or sent to mobile phones, it reinforces the message about booking in advance to save money.” She adds: “The reality is that given short franchise terms left to run, many train operators have been slow to