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Smart ticketing to be available across most
of the UK by 2018
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Transport Secretary announces smart-phone season
tickets for rail travel
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Pay-as-you-go travel across more of the country
than ever before
, Transport Secretary, today
announced a revolution in rail ticketing, with all season tickets
soon to be available mobile phones and smart cards. It means for
the first time passengers will have a smart alternative to a
weekly monthly or annual paper travel card. The technology will
be trailed by the end of the year.
There will also be faster progress on pay-as-you-go on commuter
franchises with Great Northern, Southern, C2C and Thameslink
deploying their system widely by early next year. The Transport
Secretary is also challenging the industry to accelerate
proposals for the next generation of interoperable, pay-as-you-go
smart ticketing systems.
, Secretary of State for
Transport, said:
“I am setting out details of our £80 million programme to bring
smart ticketing, using mobile phones, barcodes and smartcards
across almost all of the rail network by the end of next
year. It’s what passengers want. And we will deliver it.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Customers can pick up blank new smartcards at stations for
registration at the ticket office or afterwards online
Customers can buy tickets online, through the mobile app and at
Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs)
Once they have bought tickets, customers can pick them up at
TVMs, from gates, via Paypoint/Payzone or through the App for
Android users.
Pay as you go is where a passenger travels before they pay and a
computer works out the fare to charge based on where they ‘tap’
their smartcard. This contrasts with standard rail
ticketing where passengers need to purchase a ticket before
travelling, and have to choose from a range of fares. This
removes the stress and inconvenience of buying a ticket, but
relies on simplified fares structures.
Contactless refers to use of contactless bank cards in a
pay-as-you-go system, just like the system in London.
