TfL goes out to tender for ticketing

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON has issued an OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) tender notice for its ticketing  and fare collection services beyond 2015.  The Electra contract is valued at up to £1 billion over ten years and is expected to be awarded in October 2014, with a start date of August 2015.  By then the ticketing system in London should be ITSO - compliant and accept integrated ticketing with the country’s rail network.  The contract covers the  maintenance and availability of some 20,000 pieces of ticketing and fare collection equipment, including machines on 8,500 buses, 1,900 ticket gates at London Underground and Overground stations, and 2,250 National Rail stations. It also covers 1,800 stand - alone ticket validators (including the Docklands Light Railway), 1,600 ticket machines, and 4,000 retail ticketing devices at Ticket Stops across London.

SCNF Members’ Meeting at PayExpo

SCNF members have been offered free places to the PayExpo conference this year.  We are hosting a members’ meeting on the first day so please email events@scnf.org.uk if you are planning to attend.

SCNF Member’s meeting – 14:20, 18th June

Chaired by Kevin Farquarson, SCNF Chair

Prepaid in Transport

With case studies from:

·         Kevin Farquharson of SCNF

·         Lindsay Robertson for ITSO

·         Mick Davies Chairman of LASSeO

·         Adele Wearing for Leicester City Council

On Wednesday, 19th June there will be a Transport Ticketing Summer Seminar at the same place. The audience will be European transport operators and local authorities

·        At 1.30pm to 2pm Kevin will present Matt Lewis of Centro who will talk about their smart ticketing scheme and Swift card plans

·        From 3pm to 4pm there will be a discussion moderated by Mike Burden of Consult Hyperion with the topic Contactless payment: encouraging mass user adoption in transport. Taking part in this discussion will be Steve Wakeland, Steve Howes of ATOC, Levente Nagy of the Centre for Budapest Transport, and Erbil Yurdakul of Bankalararasi Kart Merkezi (Turkish Interbank Card Centre)

This is a well attended event and not to be missed for anyone with an interest in Prepaid cards.  You can see the full agenda via the Pay Expo website.

Core Group Election 2013/14

We are now accepting nominations for our online core group elections for 2013/14.  If you would like to stand for election please email events@scnf.org.uk with your name, organisation and a short biography about you and the reasons why you wish to join the core group.

This is your chance to make the decisions about the forum's future and programme of events.

Would you like us to do things differently?  Would you like to see us cover a certain topic at one of our events?  Tell us!

The SCNF core group members are located all over the UK and are a mix of sponsor members and Local Authority members.  The local authority members make up most of the core group and we welcome those from varied backgrounds and levels of experience.  The core group has regular teleconferences to discuss event plans, current initiatives and forum growth and they come together at SCNF events if availability allows.

We are also accepting nominations for the posts of treasurer and chairperson so if you would like to stand for these posts please let us know.

The deadline for nominations is 5pm, Friday 21st June.

ITSO all aboard the Shields Ferry for the Pop card

THE cross - Tyne Shields Ferry is one of the first passenger ferries in the country to accept ITSO - compliant smartcard transactions.

Nexus, which owns and operates the Shields Ferry service, has fitted smartcard readers on its two ferries to accept smart payments using the Popcard.  The Pop card allows the holder access to Metro and Ferry travel in new ways, including online.

Travel products can be easily uploaded on to a Pop card at the new ticket vending machines at Metro stations.

Passengers will eventually be able to use their Pop card on a pay - as - you - go basis, and will be able to upload credit on to their card using their home computer, at local shops and at Metro stations. Pop card readers are already installed at Metro stations across Tyneside and Wearside, and the Shields Ferry has followed suit in a scheme that is transforming the way people access public transport in Tyne and Wear. Director of Customer Services for Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “We believe the Shields Ferry is one of the first crossings in the country to accept ITSO compliant transactions. This is great for our passengers.

Read the full article via the ITSO website here.

Putting ITSO at the heart of smart ticketing

THE ITSO Specification is at the heart of two major pieces of work just published by the Department for Transport – the Door to Door Strategy and the guidance for multi - operator ticketing.

THE STRATEGY is about making it as easy as possible for people to get out of their cars and into different forms of transport. DfT sees smart and integrated ticketing as one way of encouraging the improved Door to Door proposition for the customer.

The Strategy says: “We are ... committed to realising the potential of smart ticketing through a shared approach between operators, local transport authorities and central government, and by involving the wider payment and retail industry.

Read the full article here.

Event date for your diaries

ITSO has been working with the Smart Card Networking Forum to have some input to two related events in June – PayExpo 2013 and the Transport Ticketing Summer Seminar.

On Tuesday, 18th June, there will be a Smart Card Networking Forum (SCNF) Members’ transport ticketing workshop

as part of the PayExpo 2013 event at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London.  This will be coordinated by SNCF Chair Kevin Farquharson and will include overviews and updates on smart ticketing projects from:

Kevin Farquharson SCNF Chair

Lindsay Robertson ITSO Chief Executive Officer

Mick Davies Chairman of LASSeO

Adele Wearing of Leicester City Council

On Wednesday, 19th June there will be a Transport Ticketing Summer Seminar at the same venue which will include:

A presentation from Matt Lewis of Centro who will talk about their smart ticketing scheme and Swift card plans

A discussion moderated by Mike Burden of Consult Hyperion with the topic Contactless Payment: Encouraging mass user adoption in transport. Taking part in this discussion will be ITSO Governance

Manager Steve Wakeland, Steve Howes of ATOC, Levente Nagy of the Centre for Budapest Transport, and Erbil Yurdakul of Bankalararasi

Kart Merkezi (the Turkish Interbank Card Centre).

All transport operators and local authorities get a free pass to these events.

Further details can be found at http://www.payexpo.com/

Nexus passes can now carry a golden ticket ...

TENS OF thousands of Metro Gold Card holders will switch to smart travel as they renew their annual passes this month.

Gold Card, which allows off - peak travel for older and disabled people, is now being sold as an ITSO - compliant ‘smart’ ticket by Nexus, added electronically to customers’ concessionary bus passes.  That means people who buy Metro Gold Card now only need a single smart card for all local bus, Metro and ferry travel in North East England.

Tobyn Hughes, Director of Customer Services for Nexus, said: “Metro Gold Card is now being sold electronically onto

concessionary travel cards.

This will make it easier for older and disabled customers to transfer between bus and Metro services with no need to carry two different passes.

Read the full article here.