MOBILE DATA AND PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
More operators and transport authorities are making big strides on simplifying and modernising payment options for rail and tram tickets – and some are getting rid of tickets altogether. Adam Hewitt reports.
ransport for London is soon to introduce ‘wave and pay’ contactless payment across
not responded at the time of going to press.
the Tube, DLR and Overground, catching up with the bus network that adopted the new system in late 2012.
Although the implementation on rail has
been delayed – TfL’s director of customer experience, Shashi Verma, told RTM early last year that it would be in place by the end of 2013 – when it does come in, it will be a major change, allowing passengers to treat their bank card like an Oyster card. The benefi ts for occasional travellers and tourists especially will be notable, and it is another way of getting cumbersome cash out of the system.
Other parts of the country are taking similar steps. Manchester’s ‘get me there’ scheme, which will include an ITSO-compliant smartcard element, also includes contactless payment for Metrolink travel from 2014. Transport for Greater Manchester says: “With a contactless card, you’ll be able to simply touch in and touch out at the start and end of every journey. The cost of all your journeys during the course of the day will be totted up and then deducted from your bank account overnight.
“However many journeys you make during the day, you will never be charged more than the all zones one-day travelcard fare. On top of that, the fares for your individual journeys will be at a discount compared to the cost of a printed ticket.”
The Metrolink light rail network is not gated. RTM asked TfGM how it intends to deter fraud and check passengers have paid via contactless, with no paper ticket and no gates, but it had
90 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 14
Merseyrail launched contactless payment in November 2013, although for now it is restricted to being a new payment option to buy traditional paper tickets. It is not a ‘touch in / touch out’ system.
But Anouska Ladds, head of travel, transit and leisure at MasterCard, told RTM that this is a “fi rst step”, with further developments expected.
Ladds acknowledged: “There are defi nitely nuances outside of London. It would be very diffi cult for rail operators and transport authorities to take the model that’s been developed for London and use it within their own networks.”
Like TfGM, the transport authority for Merseyside, Merseytravel, is also looking at an ITSO-based smartcard system, called Walrus, but its implementation has been beset by delays and a decision last year to put its full roll-out on hold pending a business case review. Merseytravel had already spent £450,000, via a DfT grant, on upgrading its gated stations with ITSO card readers.
Ladds said that the important thing was offering choice to passengers, and
that
some might prefer to use cash, others to use smartcard systems, but that contactless bank card payments would suit many because of
When new rail franchises for the region are agreed in 2016, TfGM has said it wants to integrate them with its ‘get me there’ system as soon as possible.
Confi dence in contactless T
their speed and convenience. The vast majority of transport transactions outside London are still cash, against which MasterCard is “waging war”, Ladds said.
She said that TfL’s implementation of wave and pay sparked a wave of interest up and down the country, noting that many operators and authorities currently looking at upgrading or installing smartcard readers are looking at contactless payment at the same time.
“Each city and operator will review what’s the best technology for them,” she said. “Consumers are drawing upon experiences from all kinds of purchases, not just transit. They want to get through the process as quickly as possible. I don’t think paper tickets are going to be the answer in fi ve or 10 years’ time; things will evolve. Transit networks and operators are so different outside London, but introducing contactless is a big step – but then the question is ‘where do we go from here’?”
Merseyrail managing director Maarten Spaargaren said: “This development is a very positive one for our customers and means that they can now make payments quicker and easier than ever before, in full knowledge that they are doing so safely and securely. We’re keen to keep pace with an increasingly technological world and delighted to be trailblazing this digital advancement.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.merseyrail.org/tickets-passes/ticket- information/contactless-payment
www.getmethere.com www.tfl
.gov.uk/corporate/ projectsandschemes/
19976.aspx
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112