Ticketing System, Package Products (transport and tourism) and Transport Information System in La Rochelle

Transcription

1 Topic: Integrated ticketing Submission date: 2006 Name of measure/service etc: Ticketing System, Package Products (transport and tourism) and Transport Information System in La Rochelle Location: Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle, France Initiator and partners: Urban Community of La Rochelle, Transport & Mobility Department Short description of the activity: In La Rochelle, with one single ticket, passengers can take a bus, coach, or train, board the shuttle boat or ride a bike, all without going to a ticket booth or spending money again. Moreover, special tickets have been created for tourists and their public transport needs and visits within La Rochelle. Together with these measures, a Transport Information System has been developed to allow users to choose the transport solution which is the most appropriate to them according to their needs and budget. Background and objectives: La Rochelle has a long-standing tradition of innovation in urban ecology, from the first pedestrian streets back in 1971 to the first car free day in 1997, not to mention its hallmark yellow bikes or the system of electric car hire and electric van goods delivery to the city centre. Two keys explain the success of the city s transport policy: multimodality (choice of mode) and intermodality (flexibility of use, accompanied by advantageous flat rates). The new initiatives seek: To develop easy and attractive integrated public transport ticketing products. It is based on a one ticket system, called Pass Partout 17, allowing access to any kind of transport system (boats, buses, bikes, electric shuttles ) and other activities. To extend the offer and promote public transport for tourists To improve the quality of travel information for customers waiting or in the buses, through a real time information system. To develop the Exploitation and Information Aid System in order to harmonise the pricing system in the urban community, and to have a better management of the network. To develop a common transport information database for the transport operators with conviviality and interaction between them. 1

2 Implementation: Measures implemented to promote combined use of different modes of transport are relevant: To coordinate transport offer; To propose a single ticket; To harmonize the fare system; To create intermodal terminals; To develop static and dynamic sources of information and; To spread a ticketing system linked to all operators. Ticketing system The Syndicat Mixte Communauté Tarifaire in Charente-Maritime (SMCTCM) was created in 1999 with the aim to develop intermodality on the main mobility axis of Charente- Maritime, from the île de Ré to Royan. One of the objectives was to create a combined fare, a single and unified pass called Pass Partout 17, similar to the Orange Card of the Greater Paris area. The Urban Community of La Rochelle started with the intermodal adventure while being equipped with an innovating ticketing system from ERG Transit Systems, ensuring the acceptance of magnetic titles and smartcards on the concerned network. The financial support of the French State and the European Union, as well as the technical advice of the GART, ADEME and PREDIT, contributed to the installation of this coherent ticketing: today, 317 vehicles (urban and interurban networks) are equipped with the same ticketing system, accepting the card Pass' Partout 17. In parallel, the SMCTCM works on the pricing harmonisation, while the institutions and the operators need to answer to the requirements of increasingly diversified mobility, for commuters, students, tourists... This coordination work is essential to establish a concerted and coherent pricing policy. The magnetic tickets available are: Ticket Unité : valid 4 hours after the first validation Forfait 24 heures : valid 24 hours after the first validation Forfait 10 voyages : 10 trips with 4 hours of maximum correspondence. No limit of duration for this pass. Titre hebdomadaire : valid 7 days after the first validation Titre mensuel : valid 1 month after the first validation There is also a special ticket for students Pass Etudiant 17, valid the whole year, payable per month (over 10 months). August and July are free. Schoolchildren (secondary school) living and going to school in the Urban Community have Pass' Partout 17 (approximately young people). Advantages of Pass Partout 17 are: The smart card is personalised and impossible to forge It lasts 4 years, which corresponds to a school cycle Flexibility in use: it is enough to validate it with each ride on a coach or bus It is possible to use up to four modes (bus, then coach for example between a commune of the agglomeration and a secondary school, and two other modes for other activities) In the event of change of residence, of school establishment during the year, the changes are made by transport operators without having to move or wait at counters. 2

3 In the event of loss or theft, the smartcard can be invalidated remotely, so that nobody else can uses the card at other ends. A training CD-Rom (realised in June 2005) allowed the partners salesoutlets/information points to be trained on the whole of the products and awarded on the selling points. In 2006, studies will be carried out in order to simplify the ratemaking strategy and improve the supply s coordination. Package products: Transport and tourism Three package products are available for tourists: Pass Rochelais : To discover the architectural heritage of La Rochelle while profiting from many advantages, i.e. preferential rates, accessibility and no need to queue at sites. Pass' Rochelais is offered for 2, 3 and 7 days: it gives access to all modes of transport in the Urban Community, as well as to various places of interest in La Rochelle, such as the: Aquarium Art and History Museum Maritim Museum Towers of the Old Port Musée des Automates The Pass Rochelais gives a reduction of 50% on all the modes of transport in the Urban Community, and also offers group prices for museums instead of full prices, and avoids waiting time to get in. Pass Pertuis : Leave for one Maritime tour between La Rochelle and the Island of Oléron while being given preferential rates on transport and the partners places of interest. Pass' Pertuis makes it possible to use all transport modes in the Urban Community, the boat connecting La Rochelle to Saint Denis d' Oléron and one bicycle on arrival at Oléron to visit places of interest (optional). On the way from Oléron to La Rochelle, it gives access to the boat from Saint Denis to La Rochelle; all transport modes of the Urban Community and to certain partners places of interest (optional) Pass' Pertuis functions over a duration of 24h and makes it possible to make a return ticket La Rochelle/Oléron by using successively urban transport, a boat, a bicycle thanks to the Pass' Partout 17. Pass RocheforTour : From July 1 until August 31, Pass' RocheforTour makes it possible to visit many sites of the town of Rochefort at reduced prices with R' bus, public transport network of Rochefort. This Pass was not successful because the proximity of the sites did not require the use of public transport. A study was launched in 2006 with the agglomerations of La Rochelle and Rochefort on Pass tourist between the 2 cities. 3

4 Transport Information System Parallel to the acquisition of the embarked material, software tools were financed by all partners: the telemodification module, which makes it possible to modify the data of a contract on remote smart card by phone to the Urban network. The contract will be updated directly when validating the ticket or smart card in the bus. the penetrating lines module which makes it possible to make three tariff ranges (urban, interurban and intermodal) coexist the acquisition of a traveller information system One of the competences of the SMCTCM is to develop multimodal information in order to provide the public transport users of the department, with clear and precise information via various supports of communication. Therefore the Travellers Information System was launched, with the installation of information panels at various interchange points in the department: Central Bus station of the Urban Community of La Rochelle, Bus station of Sablanceaux (Ré Island), Railway station of Royan; as well as an online search engine of intermodal routes. Two external panels and two interior screens were implemented at the Place Verdun in summer 2005, providing precise information of the departures of buses and coaches, indicating their number, the destination and the corresponding platform. Moreover, it is possible to announce disruptions on the network, as well as other information. Moreover, one search engine of route has been available since May 12, 2005 on the site The user can define his route between two points of the department of the Charente-Maritime. All transport possibilities (concerning the lines of the Pass' Partout 17 system) are provided then. Thus someone can choose according to his wishes and budget the most appropriate transport solution. This new tool doubled the consultations on the site However, the site will have to be better advertised to reach a larger audience. The transport operators can provide this information through their agencies and their sale's outlets. Soon, multimodal information will include all commercial lines of the department. New panels will be established in Charente-maritime in 2006, e.g. at the SNCF railway stations of La Rochelle and Royan, as well as the bus station of Rochefort (under construction). Conclusions: With these innovative measures, La Rochelle hopes to achieve: An increase of collective transport users and other alternative modes and activities The integration of personalised travel planning The Provision of bus headway information and management facilities to bus operators A comparative study of 2004 shows that 5 times more sales were carried out in 2005 compared to 2004 and 6 times more trips were made. 4

5 Website address for more information: Contact person for more information on the project: Jean-Marie Grellier Telephone: Fax: Jean-marie.grellier@agglo-larochelle.fr 5