Ticketing

// Integrated ticketing systems

The integration of different operators and modes of transport into the same fare system may remarkably facilitate collective travel by buses and coaches.

Example:PLUSBUS is a recently created UK nation-wide integrated ticketing scheme for bus and train travel. The passenger pays for the entire bus and train journey in one transaction. In its beginnings during the financial year 2006-07, approximately 77,000 PLUSBUS tickets were sold, which represents an increase of 55% in comparison with the previous year’s figures.

PLUSBUS is a cheap bus pass (like a travelcard) that you buy with your train ticket. It gives you unlimited bus travel around the origin and/or destination town's of your rail journey, including to and from the train station. PLUSBUS serves 276 towns in Britain.

For more information:

IRU Eurochallenge Award 2007 – PLUSBUS

Visit www.plusbus.info

A sustainable future for transport, DG Energy and Transport, European Commission, p.20

// Electronic payment and electronic tickets

Electronic payments range from payments by bank debit, by credit card over mobile phones or by the use of smart cards. They offer passengers more flexibility and a broader choice of paying for their tickets, whilst adapting to a modern “electronic purse lifestyle”. One electronic ticket also saves tremendous amounts of water, landfill space, energy and trees.

Examples: In Vienna, tickets can be ordered and paid for with a mobile phone. A text message has to be sent to a certain number and the ticket will be sent as a text message back to the mobile phone. The price of the ticket is then included in the monthly mobile phone invoice.

Across the United Kingdom, Stagecoach has introduced the so called “Tap and Go” technology, which allows passengers to buy their tickets on-board with their bankcards.

A New Zealand company has launched a mobile smartphone app, “Touch2Pay”, that allows customers to board buses by swiping their phone. Touch2Pay is usable on Wellington and Auckland buses also to pay for taxis and retailers in the Snapper network.

For more information:

Electronic ticket

Handy Fahrschein, Wien
Greener Smarter Together, Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2009, Stagecoach group

Sustainable Urban Transport, Final report from the European project Trendsetter, pp. 23-24

// Smart cards

The introduction of smart cards facilitates payment for passengers and aids in the management of income for operators. Additionally, smart cards generate exact information concerning the travel habits of passengers, which allows customisation of public transport service. Smart cards can also be used for advanced pricing models, where the traveller is charged the cheapest price according to the length of the trip, the time of day or the number of journeys.

Example: The usage of smart cards in Stockholm allows quicker ticket inspection on buses and facilitates the introduction of new fares and types of tickets, which, as a result, encourages new travellers. In Brussels and Bremen, museum, theatre and other service tickets can also be loaded onto smart cards.

For more information:

Electronic ticket

Sustainable Urban Transport, Final report from the European project Trendsetter, pp. 15-16

CIVITAS-METEOR: Final Cross Site Evaluation Report, pp.225-236

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