Small is beautiful in Windsor Royal Borough

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1 ITSOnews April Small is beautiful in Windsor Royal Borough COURTNEY Buses are proving that smaller can be beautiful when it comes to commercial smart ticketing. The company launched its ITSO-based smart ticketing system with the Courtney Connect smartcard in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on March 1 st. The cards can be requested through an application online. They are then posted, pre-loaded with cash (STR), carnets (Multi-12, 12 single trips for the price of 10), or period passes (weekly or 4 -weekly). These can then be topped up on-bus. The smartcards can also be bought at Maidenhead and Windsor tourist information centres and Maidenhead Town Hall. And there are plans to make them available at local libraries. Inside this issue Smart moves in South Yorks p2 Northern ticketing plans p3 It s all happening on rail pp4-7 Baroness announces triple whammy p8 64% prefer smart cards p10 The company aims to launch a website shop this summer so that customers can then top up and pay online. Around 33 of its buses are running in Maidenhead & Windsor (RBWM), Bracknell, Camberley, Reading and Wokingham and they all currently accept ITSO-based concessionary bus passes smartly. Eight buses in Maidenhead & Windsor have now also been configured to accept the Courtney Connect card and its products. The company plans to extend the smartcards to Bracknell Forest this year, then to Wokingham and Reading, and is in talks with the relevant councils. Courtney Buses carry some 1.7 million passengers a year, of which 700,000 are in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. The local council and bus company say that boarding times should be reduced as a result of introducing smart ticketing, which will help to improve overall journey times and punctuality. Don t Forget Bill Courtney, managing director, Courtney Buses, said: We are pleased to be able to offer this smartcard service to our customers. We may not be one of the Big Five operators, but Courtney Buses has always recognized the value to our customers of making using our buses as easy to use as possible. Smart ticketing is just one way of doing that, and the service provided by Ticketer means we don t have to make a major capital investment up front. Courtney Buses ticket machines and HOPS are provided through Ticketer s managed service. ITSO prices go up today, April 1st. Our Finance Team will contact you when appropriate but new prices can be found on our website. April

2 Smart moves are on the way in South Yorkshire THIS WEEK saw the beginning of a major move for smart ticketing in South Yorkshire. Nearly 100% of non-rail operators in the region now have the ability to accept ITSO-based smart ticketing products. In fact 98% of the 1,013 buses and 25 trams operating in the South Yorkshire area, run by 12 different operators, are now able to take the ITSO-compliant TravelMaster and ENCTS smartcards. Bigger operators First and Stagecoach use their own smart ticketing systems, and smaller operators use a managed service provided by SYPTE (South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive). TravelMaster Most of the bus and tram tickets are available as smart products on the ITSOcompliant TravelMaster smartcard or operators own smartcards. TravelMaster smartcards can now be bought at an increasing number of ticket kiosks around the region, and at more than 300 shops offering Payzone smartcard purchases and top-ups. Five new ticket kiosks which also take cash as well as debit and credit cards are currently being installed in transport interchanges and will replace the retail facilities at Transport Information Centres which are being closed. Customers will have the opportunity to set up an online smartcard account called MyTSY later this month. This will allow passengers to securely apply for SYPTE Deputy Interim Director General David Young concessionary passes, order a commercial smartcard and pay for annual tickets, make a service request and submit feedback, store personal journey plans and ticket options, and add discount entitlements to the card, as well as register for timetable updates and newsletters. In the near future, they will also be able to immediately add products to their smartcard via their NFC-enabled smartphones. Mobile phone ticketing will also be available over the next few weeks, where customers can by their m-ticket online through a smartphone and show it to the driver. TSY s m-ticketing offer will complement the existing m-ticket app used by First. And SYPTE wants to migrate the existing single, flat fare for young people onto a pay-as-you-go smartcard, to further encourage the elimination of cash from bus, reduce transaction times and provide parents with more confidence in managing their children s travel, on top of the attractive day and week child products on offer. SYPTE Interim Director General David Young said: There are now only a handful of buses in South Yorkshire, belonging to small operators, where ENCTS and TravelMaster products cannot be used in smart mode. 98% of ENCTS bus journeys are currently smart. Stagecoach Supertram accepts smartcards. Most rail operators are not yet able to accept smart, but we are working with DfT on making rail Smart across the north of England. Customers are showing they would rather buy their tickets at a time and place which suits their busy lifestyles be it via a ticket machine at an interchange, online via their PCs or mobile phones, or at their corner shop. Since our ticket kiosks launched, up 20% more people have migrated to use these instead of making an over-counter purchase at a Travel Information Centre, and we expect similar positive take up from Payzone outlets and online. The m-ticket solution will also be ideal for people who just want to buy low value day tickets which do not justify us issuing a smartcard, but mean people don t have to worry about keeping a paper ticket safe. By developing smarter and more efficient ways of providing information and tickets and expanding the ways they can be accessed, we can offer options that are both future-proof and provide a choice of touch-points that can be used when and where people want. South Yorkshire s phased smartcard project is delivered by SYPTE, TravelMaster, Yorcard, and bus and tram operators. It is part funded by a 1.34 million Better Bus Area Fund grant from the Department for Transport. In 2014/15 passenger journey numbers in the South Yorkshire region totalled some 128 million, split into 107 million on bus, 11.6 million on tram and 9.5 million on rail. Public transport operators are currently processing in excess of 90,000 smart card transactions every day (nearly 33 million a year more than 25%). For more information visit travelsouthyorkshire.com/smart The Travel South Yorkshire (TSY) Partnership is made up of SYPTE, regional transport service providers and the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority. April

3 Northern strategy aims for single smart solution THE recently published Northern Transport Strategy has smart ticketing as one its main goals. The overall aim of the strategy is to build a northern powerhouse, boosting the economy of the North of England through transforming connectivity with a high-speed TransNorth rail system, a revitalised highways network, and a host of other transport improvements. One of the stated aims is the introduction of a single smart ticketing solution that works on all modes of public transport right across the region. Investment This will build upon investment made to date using the ITSO technical standard (sic), as well as take account of the emerging contactless payment technology via bank cards and smart phones. The strategy is jointly agreed by the Government and Transport for the North and was published on March 20 under the title The Northern Powerhouse: One Agenda, One Economy, One North. It can be found here. On integrated and smart travel, the strategy says: Our vision is to develop a ticketing solution across the North that makes travel by rail, bus, Metro and tram as simple, attractive and convenient as possible for local trips and for longer journeys. Consistent We want to support the development of a consistent and familiar travel experience across the North. An integrated Northern travel area, based around clear geographical zones and a fair and simple fare structure that people can understand, will inform sensible travel choices and make public transport an attractive option. The strategy document points out that Between the major city areas there are Our vision is to develop a ticketing solution across the North that makes travel by rail, bus, Metro and tram as simple, attractive and convenient as possible for local trips and for longer journeys. - Transport for the North differences in the smart ticketing offer to passengers. Each area has many different public transport operators each of which are involved with smart schemes to a greater or lesser extent. Consequently they each have different commercial agreements and individual fare structures. That means that any changes to ticketing requires an evolutionary approach. The first step for Transport for the North will be to align the different tickets and approaches in different cities. Proper joint governance is essential. Our aim is for contactless cards to be trialled on transport systems, travel rights extended between different cities and the rail network to be smart-enabled as quickly as possible. In October 2014, the Government created a new body called Transport for the North (TfN) made up of the northern city regions. This body will work together with other authorities and stakeholders to roll out the strategy. Civic leaders, business people and transport experts are involved. TfN has a Board made up of the following city regions, their LEPs, and national agencies: Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, North East, Hull and the Humber, the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency, Network Rail, and HS2 Ltd. Many of these areas are already using ITSO smartcards. Most already have bus operators taking the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme concessionary passes, which are ITSObased, smartly. Other regions have operators either running their own ITSO commercial smartcard schemes, such as StagecoachSmart or Go-Ahead s the key, or taking part in multi-operator, multi-modal schemes being run by local transport authorities. For example: Cheshire has a multi-operator Travelcard Cumbria and Lancashire have the NoWcard Leeds and Sheffield are part of the MCard scheme Liverpool has the Walrus card Manchester has the getmethere smart ticketing system Newcastle currently has the Pop card on the Metro system and some buses as part of the wider Tyne and Wear NESTI project (North East Smart Ticketing Initiative). Rail North has signed a powersharing agreement with the Department for Transport. The agreement will see greater devolved powers over the rail network in the north of England from the start of the new Northern and TransPennine franchises in April next year. Rail North represents 29 local authorities in the region. A joint strategic board, made up of three Rail North and three DfT members with an independent chairman, will agree plans to develop and invest in the franchises, including smart ticketing. The day to day running of the contracts will be managed by a team of five staff whose managing director will be nominated by Rail North. April

4 Smart ticketing on rail is getting right on track RECENT weeks have seen a plethora of announcements about smart ticketing on rail, whether it be things that are happening now, or commitments made by the Department for Transport and train operators for the future. We present a round-up of the latest news here. Testing gates at Huddersfield TESTING on ITSO upgrades to ticket gates at Huddersfield rail station is underway. Nine upgraded tickets gates, capable of reading MCard smartcards and concessionary cards for Young People, Scholars and PhotoCard holders, are now being trialled. When this process is complete, passengers will be able to touch in and out with their smartcard and pass through the gates much more quickly. Convenient Huddersfield is the third major West Yorkshire station, after Bradford Interchange and Leeds, to have gates that can read MCard smartcards, which people are now using to make more than one million train and bus journeys every week in West Yorkshire. Welcoming the development, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee Chair Councillor James Lewis said: We have had lots of positive feedback about the smartcard gates already in use at Bradford and Leeds and I m pleased to say we are now close to making the quick and convenient, touch in -touch out facility available to any of the two-and-a-half million passengers who use Huddersfield Station every year who have an MCard. The smart ticket gates at Huddersfield station will be the latest important step in the rollout of the MCard scheme across West Yorkshire which will also see pay-as -you-go cards and online purchasing in the future. We are also looking at further options such as MCard holders being able to use their smartcards to access Car Club. Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: Smartcards have revolutionised travel by offering greater flexibility and ease of use for passengers. Harnessing the latest technology to offer the best possible passenger experience is vital to making our railways fit for the 21st century. A First TransPennine Express spokesperson said: "I am pleased that FTPE has worked successfully in partnership with industry colleagues to deliver a scheme which will make accessing Huddersfield station and travelling by train quicker and more convenient." DfT funding MCard is the largest operating smartcard system of its kind outside London and there are already around 500,000 smartcards in use across West Yorkshire, including English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes and MCards. The upgraded gates at Huddersfield have been possible thanks to 153,000 of Department for Transport funding secured by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and working in partnership with station managers First TransPennine Express and gate suppliers Cubic Transportation Systems. For the more technically-minded, West Yorkshire s MCard essentially uses multioperator multi-modal period passes (IPE TYP22s). The MCards work at gates in stations operated by different TOCs (Train Operating Companies). Leeds and Bradford station ticket gates were supplied by Scheidt & Bachmann and are operated by Northern Rail. The Huddersfield ticket gates were supplied by Cubic and are operated by First TransPennine Express (TPE). Franchise Both First TPE and Northern use ISAMs supplied by Yorcard, which collects the ITSO data for reporting to the scheme owner / operator (which in itself is a joint venture between the operators in West Yorkshire and WYCA). TransPennine ON March 20, the government confirmed it had agreed a further year for the running of the TransPennine Express by First. The deal means that First TransPennine Express will continue to operate services across the north for another year until April 2016, paving the way for the start of a new franchise. Three operators have been shortlisted for the possible running of the next franchise First TransPennine Express Limited; Keolis Go-Ahead Limited; and Stagecoach TransPennine Express Trains Limited. Continued on page 5 Huddersfield railway station and a First TransPennine Express Train April

5 Continued from page 4 South West s 50 million deal A 50 MILLION package of improvements for South West Trains will include a major upgrade of the operator s ITSO-based smart ticketing system. The improvement package was announced on March 23 after the Department for Transport reached a franchise and funding agreement with the operator, Stagecoach Group. The latest planned improvements will include: a new online booking system for smart ticketing, allowing joined up journeys with London s bus and Tube network better customer information, including a new website and mobile app, a customer relationship management programme to better understand passenger priorities, and promotional campaigns aimed at enabling passengers to get access to the best value fares available Enhanced easier ticket purchase: 170 new easyto-use ticket machines, including 90 with facility for customers to ask for help to ensure they get the best fare enhanced customer service: more visible staff on station concourses to help passengers; customer service NVQ qualifications for employees; mystery shopping and online surveys. These improvements will be introduced between now and February 2017, which is when the current South West Trains franchise is due to end. Negotiations have begun to extend the company s operation of the franchise to April South West Trains customers can already use their ITSO-compliant StagecoachSmart cards to buy season tickets and use them smartly on around 100 stations on the network.. Working closely with Transport for London (TfL), South West Trains is currently testing the StagecoachSmart Card on the TfL/Oyster infrastructure. Some 15,000 smartcards have been issued to staff and their families for testing and a customer pilot is planned for this Autumn when passengers renewing their annual season tickets on the Portsmouth direct line will be contacted and offered the opportunity to be part of a customer smart ticketing pilot for travel into and around London. Chief Executive of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance Tim Shoveller said: These exciting changes will deliver the biggest package of customer focused benefits for years. As well as the expansion of our smart ticketing scheme we are also introducing more staff to our concourses so that they are able to help passengers, face to face. We re also creating hundreds of new parking spaces across the network and introducing more than 57,000 additional seats and 73 new services on suburban and mainline routes across the network. Rail Minister Claire Perry said: As we spend record amounts on modernising our railways as part of our long term economic plan, our franchising programme is also unlocking considerable investment from train operators. This package of improvements from South West Trains, with its strong focus on customer service, is very welcome and will make a huge difference to passengers on the many busy routes served by this franchise. South West Trains is the UK s busiest commuter network, catering for 500,000 passenger journeys daily (208.8 million a year). It operates 186 railways stations, including the major commuter hubs of Southampton, Basingstoke, Woking and Guildford. Abellio launch in Scotland ABELLIO takes over its running of the ScotRail franchise today (April 1) and ITSO smart ticketing is very much on its agenda. Jeff Hoogesteger, CEO Abellio Group, says their eventual aim is to work in partnership to provide a Scottish nationwide smartcard. Transport Scotland has negotiated the franchise elements, including the smart ticketing requirements, but Abellio has been working with Nevis Technologies - a joint venture between Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Ecebs - to implement the technology behind its smart ticketing system. The company says it wants to provide a smart version of a multi-journey ticket in Greater Glasgow which enables travel across trains, buses, the Subway and west coast ferries. Abellio, which is giving away one million free off-peak tickets to celebrate its takeover of the franchise, has a ten-year target for smartcards to account for 60 per cent of all tickets sold. Ticketing and fares plans include: Job-seekers being able to claim two free tickets a month for travel to interviews and a free monthly season ticket when they secure work. Smart season ticket holders receiving a Rail Minister Claire Perry with South West Managing Director Tim Shoveller Continued on page 6 April

6 Continued from page 5 discount of one third when they purchase off peak tickets, and being able to buy off peak first class upgrades for only 5. Later this year, offering advance fares on all reservable ScotRail services between any two stations in Scotland starting from 5 for standard class and 10 for first class. Smartcards will integrate travel on more than one mode, with the first example being the Glasgow Subway. This will be the first step towards a Scottish nationwide smartcard, to be completed in Next year a new flexible smart product will allow passengers to choose where they want to travel, how many tickets they want to buy and how long they want them to be valid. A new ScotRail price promise commits to best value tickets through all Abellio ScotRail retail channels. This means that if passengers find the same season, anytime or off-peak ticket cheaper elsewhere, Abellio will refund the difference. Currently, more than 86 million passenger journeys a year are taken on ScotRail services. Abellio retains Greater Anglia PASSENGERS commuting from East Anglia and Essex to London will soon benefit from the ease and flexibility provided by smart tickets, the DfT announced on March 26. Train operator Abellio Greater Anglia has committed to providing its passengers with a smart ticket offer. As part of the DfT-funded South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme, the operator will upgrade its ticketing systems and begin a phased introduction of ITSOcompliant smartcards, initially for season ticket products, on parts of its network. For passengers this will mean: easier purchase of tickets online and collection at stations shorter queues at ticket offices more durable tickets that do not wear out as quickly as paper ones much quicker and more reliable passage through automatic ticket barriers potential for more flexible ticketing products that could not work on paperbased tickets This work will be done throughout 2015 with the aim of launching at the end of the year. Initial routes to benefit are between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge, Ely, Norwich and Southend Victoria. Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: I am delighted by Abellio Greater Anglia s commitment to introduce a modern smart ticketing system to their passengers. This is another example of the rail industry making progress, with the government s support, in developing an easy and seamless transport network with the passenger at its heart. Harnessing the latest technology holds the key to offering passengers the best possible services. This is especially important as we embark on major investments in our railways to build a stronger economy and fairer society. Managing Director for Abellio Greater Anglia, Jamie Burles, said: Abellio Greater Anglia are excited to be participating in this initiative, which will provide significant customer benefits and make rail travel even more attractive and accessible. See more on Abellio and SEFT on page 7. Abellio has become an ITSO Member. FGW franchise ON March 23 the DfT announced the detail of a new directly awarded franchise agreement with operator First to continue running the Great Western rail franchise until the start of the services of the next franchise, expected to be in April Continued on page 7 April

7 Continued from page 6 As well as increased capacity and improvements to rolling stock, First has committed to playing its part in the SEFT (South East Flexible Ticketing) programme which includes providing capability to accept ITSO smart ticketing. First Great Western runs routes throughout the South West of England and South Wales. SEFT update THE South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme continues to collect more significant milestones, according to the programme team was an important year for the programme when the strategic direction of SEFT was re-affirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT). Since then, the c2c smart ticketing pilot has started in earnest; all the key components for the ITSO central back office have been procured, and TfL (Transport for London) and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing smart products to be tested and launched in London. Further building blocks are now well in hand as follows: Acceptance Testing ONE of the exceptional and challenging features of SEFT is to create an interoperable environment between the TOCs and TfL to allow smart tickets to be used across the network. Making sure the multitude of ticket scenarios integrate effectively within the ITSO environment and provide seamless travel for the passenger has moved a step closer. The SEFT programme has started building the test environment which will replicate the physical and technical smart operations of all the SEFT operators. Gatelines will be installed along with TVMs (Ticket Vending Machines) and IPVs (ITSO Passenger Validators) and connected to a back office. When fully in place in the summer, the testing facility will allow the test team to simulate a smart journey between, say, Basildon on the c2c line and Haywards Heath on Southern, without having to travel across London and beyond to test the acceptance and flow of data. Any problems in testing can then be traced back to source, corrected and retested at ease and with speed. Gavin Candland, Project Manager for the test environment, said: This secure and unique environment will allow robust acceptance testing to take place to provide a very high degree of confidence to the industry and the passenger that the quality of travel experience will be good from the first day. Abellio commitment IN MARCH, Abellio Greater Anglia signed a Deed of Amendment to its existing franchise. Abellio now joins South West Trains, Southern, c2c and Govia Thameslink Railway who are already committed to the DfT-funded SEFT programme. Abellio will upgrade its ticketing systems and begin a phased introduction of smart cards, initially for season ticket products, on parts of its network. This work will be completed this year with the aim of launching to passengers at the end of the year. Andrew Keating, Programme Director for SEFT, said There is a confident buzz around the SEFT programme and it s great to secure Abellio Greater Anglia s commitment in recent days. Alongside the Testing Facility and the development of the central back office for SEFT, 2015 is already turning into a year of delivery and building on the solid foundations of last year. See more on Abellio Greater Anglia on page 6. Future-proofing ITSO s Spec AS part of its wish to ensure the ITSO Specification is fit for future technological purpose, the company is seeking funding to support a teleportation application. The aim is to introduce this foolproof app from 1st April Let us know your plans for CTBW THE date for this year s Catch the Bus Week (CTBW) has been set 29 th June to 5 th July. The week of activities celebrating the key role buses play in communities across the UK is coordinated by industry campaign group Greener Journeys. Last year s event was launched by Transport Minister Baroness Kramer and nearly 100 bus companies, passenger organisations and local authorities ran events, ticket giveaways and community engagement campaigns across the country. If you want to let ITSOnews readers know about your event particularly if it is tied in with your ITSO smart ticketing please details and any pictures to sheila.macdonald@itso.org.uk April

8 Operators and cities sign up to concordat MEMBERS of the partnership have signed a concordat that sets out the basis for cooperation between bus operators and seven city regions to start delivering smart, multi-operator ticketing in At the March meeting of the Smart Cities Partnership, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer presided over the signing of the concordat which signifies an important advance in collaborative and cooperative working across the industry. Welcoming this important development, and congratulating the signatories, Baroness Kramer said: Smart ticketing is revolutionising travel and is an important part of the transport investment which will help to build a stronger economy and fairer society. I am very pleased that it is gaining real momentum. Implementing smart tickets involves close working across operators, administrative regions and industries. This shows how much can be done through partnership working. I wish to thank all parties involved for their commitment and innovation in driving these plans to make travel easier and more convenient for the public. John Dowie, chair of the Smart Cities Partnership, said: The signing of the concordat marks a successful year of engagement between cities, operators Pictured above from left to right: Jenni Borg (DfT), John Backway (Go-Ahead), Gordon Tennant (Arriva), Andy Gibbons (Nottingham City Council), Martin Hancock (National Express), Mark Wills (Leicester City Council), Giles Fearnley (First Group), Simon Posner (Confederation of Passenger Transport), Geoff Inskip (Centro), Baroness Kramer (Minister of State for Transport, sitting), Bob Montgomery (Stagecoach), David Young (South Yorkshire PTE), David Bartlett (Nexus), Ed Hopkins (West of England Partnership), David Brown (Merseytravel) and the DfT, which has seen the accelerated delivery of a number of multioperator ticket schemes. It both banks the success to date and sets a solid foundation upon which pace can be maintained in delivering benefits to passengers. Integrated ticketing for Centro passengers OVER the next two years, more than 620,000 will be invested to extend smart ticketing across the rail network in the West Midlands. Minister Baroness Kramer announced the investment at the Easter meeting of the Smart Cities Partnership on 26th March. The funding will enable Centro, the integrated transport authority for the West Midlands, to extend its Swift smartcard (that passengers are already used to using on buses) to large areas of the West Midlands rail network, as well as pave the way for the introduction of similar products in the future. Crucially, this investment means that from September 2015, passengers will be able to use smartcards at the redeveloped Birmingham New Street station. Cllr John McNicholas, chairman of Centro, the public transport coordinator for the West Midlands, said: I am delighted that our smart ticketing programme is to receive such a boost. It means we can start to roll out Swift across the local rail network at a time when train usage is at its highest in nearly a century. The ultimate winner, though, is the passenger, who will now have a smart ticket they can use across all forms of transport. John Dowie, chair of the Smart Cities Partnership, said: This project in the West Midlands is a great example of how, through partnership working and bringing together intelligence, existing systems, infrastructure and know-how, we can accelerate successful delivery. Working with UK Cards Association on payment TRANSPORT Minister Baroness Kramer has announced that the government will be working with the UK Cards Association the body representing the card payments industry to bring contactless payment to public transport country-wide. The association will lead a project to coordinate actions among card payment processors, card issuers as well as UK transport operators. Melanie Johnson, chair of the UK Card Association, said: Choice and speed of payment is important to customers and contactless cards offer greater convenience when you re travelling by train or bus. This news builds on the huge success of contactless payments on London transport, with the rapid uptake meaning it now accounts for one Continued on page 9 April

9 SCP Continued from page 8 in seven of all contactless transactions in the UK. The cards industry is pleased to be working with DfT on this new project which will boost the economy by reducing ticketing costs, delivering efficiency and From the Chair I WAS extremely pleased to hear about the progress which has been made on the Transaction Keyring Roll project. Last Friday (27th March), the providers of HOPS services to our members agreed to our rolling out of the new keyring to the live ISAM estates, starting on Monday (30th March). I want to commend the ITSO project team for their sterling work in coordinating information regarding progress on this critical project. This positive news followed hard on the heels of an extremely busy and productive Board meeting where we were able to sign off some significant pieces of work. ITSO Ltd General Manager Steve Wakeland and I, along with your Board, are going to review the structure of the Board committees and groups, such as OAG and SSIG. It makes sense to take a look at such structures to ensure that they continue to meet the changing needs of the organisation and its membership. This is an ongoing process and I will keep you updated with progress. The Board also signed off business cases for two projects. The first is an upgrade to the ITSO Card Reader Software which is currently available through the ITSO website. The Card and ISAM reader tools have been useful in a limited way and it has now been agreed to upgrade the Card Reader Tool so that it can provide harnessing the popularity of payment cards. We will be coordinating the collaborative effort on behalf of the card and transit industry including the card schemes, issuers and the payment businesses which enable transactions to take place, as well as transit operators. much greater levels of efficiency, detail and flexibility. The second business case concerns the ISMS servers. We are upgrading these from Windows 2003 to Windows This will also bring an added benefit of significantly improving system resilience. The ITSO Limited team continues to take shape. I am delighted to confirm that we have made offers which have been accepted for the positions of Governance Manager to cover Steve Wakeland s previous position, and Financial Controller to replace contractor Chris Woodall. A candidate has also accepted the offer of a Service Analyst position, replacing Sara Longley on the Service Management Team. Sara plans to head off to college in the next few months and will be helping out with other duties while doing a Contact us If you would like to know more about the Smart Cities Partnership please visit or the team at info@smartcitiespartnership.org.uk. comprehensive handover to her replacement in the coming weeks. I will give you more information on the new appointees through the newsletter as they take up their positions. Your Board is also looking at some changes. Following some internal movement in DfT, their current nominee John Dowie will be stepping down. DfT has nominated Becky Wood to replace him. Becky already has some history in smart ticketing and I am delighted to welcome her to the Board. Meanwhile, bus sector nominee Richard Rampton has moved from National Express to take up a position with TfL and has therefore had to step down from the Board. I want to express my warmest thanks to both John and Richard, who have been excellent colleagues on the Board and who have given great service in the cause of the Company. I wish them well in their future careers. The bus sector will nominate a new representative shortly. You will be aware that the Board also values the input from ALBUM and pteg who we invite to attend meetings. We have been notified that Paul Jenkins of Thamesdown Transport will now be the ALBUM representative and John Henkel of Metro, part of West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the pteg representative. We look forward to hearing from both about life at the sharp end of ITSO smart ticketing. Mike Fuhr Board Chairman, ITSO Limited Up-to-date statistics on products registered in the ITSO Environment New Commercial Products Registered in March 2015 New ENCTS Products Registered in March 2015 New Customer Media Devices Registered in March 2015 New Operator IDs Registered in March 2015 Total Operational ISAMs connected to the ISMS as at end March ,473 April

10 ISAM updates IT IS important that your ISAMs are always updated to the latest firmware version in order to ensure correct and secure operation of the ISAM, prevent revenue loss and protect data. ISAM firmware updates allow for the delivery of bug fixes, security patches and updated features beneficial to the ISAM s operation. New updates are relatively rare and are always rigorously tested prior to release in order to ensure correct function, compatibility and stability. When a new update is released its availability is communicated to each AMS HOPS by the ISMS and updates can be requested from the ISMS. The latest firmware version is (released in August 2012) and includes a fix for a problem in the ISAM when updating Value Groups. We strongly recommend updating to this level, particularly if your scheme accepts commercial products. A list of errata and patch details is available in Developer Guide 0005, available from the ITSO website members area and governed by the NDA. If you have any questions about updating your ISAM to the latest version please contact Compliance Officer Andrew Watson. 6 million fund up for grabs THE DfT has launched an industrywide competition to spur innovation among train operators - and smart ticketing could be on the agenda. The Train Operator Competition is funded with 6 million from the Department for Transport and organised by FutureRailway, an expert body set up by the rail industry to accelerate research, development and innovation. It is inviting proposals which train operators and their supply chains will fund, along with government financial support. These will be aimed at finding solutions that will address current and future challenges identified by the railway industry: enhancing customer experience, expanding capacity, reducing costs, and reducing carbon. In her launch speech, Rail Minister Claire Perry said: When I think of what frustrates me most about rail services, I think about things like ticketing and passenger information. I still find the process of buying a ticket archaic, even if the industry has made small improvements in recent years. In this area, the railway seems to be light years behind other industries. Passengers want a seamless experience. To find, buy, and get hold of the right ticket for their journey, at the best price, before proceeding with their journey. That should be the minimum requirement. To really make things easy, maybe customers could have a permit to travel on their phone, with no gate-lines that slow them down. Contact TOC15@futurerailway.org for a full invitation to tender. Deadline for clarification questions is Thursday, 30th April 2015 and the final date for submission of responses is Friday, 15th May % prefer to pay by smartcard in West Yorkshire SMART ticketing featured favourably in a recent consultation by First Bus. The operator has been consulting on a new bus proposal for its services in West Yorkshire and part of that consultation covered smart ticketing. As well as the fact that more than 75% of people in West Yorkshire would consider using a bus more often if First s proposed New Bus proposal was introduced, many respondents were strongly in favour of the smartcard aspect of the proposal, noting that it would contribute to a great improvement to journey times. 64% of respondents said smartcards would be their preferred method of payment. The proposal is a package of measures designed to achieve a transformation to bus services in the region. This includes the introduction of new vehicles (similar in concept to the New Routemaster used in London), ITSObased smart ticketing and aligning investment with infrastructure improvements through the West Yorkshire Transport fund to tackle congestion hotspots. The new bus features up to three entry and exit points, two staircases, and smart ticketing touchpads, all designed to increase efficiency and speed up bus journeys by reducing the time spent getting on and off the buses. First Bus in West Yorkshire provides more than 100 million customer journeys a year with 900 buses. April

11 ACT opens new test centre for Welsh customers ACT has opened an office in Cardiff which includes a new test and research centre, as well as offering local support for its customers in Wales. The company says the end-to-end test Cardiff centre: The new facility will test the whole smart ticketing lifecycle environment fully replicates the live ITSO environment for smartcard schemes deployed across Wales. Local authorities and transport operators in Wales are now able to use the facility to test all aspects of the smart ticketing lifecycle, from card production to customer journey. Up in the G-Cloud ACT has been awarded a place on the Crown Commercial Service s (CCS) G- Cloud framework to make its HOPS and CMS Cloud Services available for purchase through the G-Cloud digital online store. The G-Cloud framework contains a preapproved list of suppliers that offer cloud and other digital services through an online portal. It can be used by organisations across the UK public sector including central government, local government, health, education, devolved administrations, emergency services, defence and not-forprofit organisations. 90 per cent give thumbs up to easy holdall card INTERESTING insights have been gained from Passenger Focus research into the launch of smart ticketing in Norfolk. The ITSO-based holdall smartcard was introduced initially for Norwich park and ride in April Passenger Focus did some research before the introduction to establish a baseline, then followed up with focus groups and interviews to gauge reaction to the new smartcard service. The research looked at opinions of passengers, bus operators and council staff. A credible 90% said it was easy to use holdall on buses. Reasons given for getting the cards were: 73% to get cheaper fares 33% to replace cash 21% to buy season tickets 21% to board more quickly 21% to save time 10% to help with budgeting 3% to pay for someone else The County Council took the decision to introduce a separate fare increase at the same time as the smartcard, taking the view that it was better to do both at once. In hindsight, some felt this might have confused the issue, and made it difficult for people surveyed to separate their response to the new fare structure to how they felt about the smartcard. This has been reflected in the published survey results. Laurie Egan of Norfolk County Council, who is managing the DfT-sponsored project, said: We did not underestimate the size and nature of the challenges when we introduced the scheme, which is why we have planned to take it in manageable steps, with credible, independent research planned at key stages. We have taken on board lessons learned about the passengers in our area and how we can make smart ticketing work for them, the operators and the council. We now planning to use this passenger feedback as the main driver to streamline our web portal, and our application and information processes for the holdall smartcard, including introducing an auto top-up facility. We are also working on offering a variety of payment methods, taking into account that many people do not have online access. The summary report of the research can be found at publications/smart-ticketing-in-norfolkwhat-do-passengers-think-summaryreport with the full report to follow shortly. Contribute to your newsletter: If you wish to contribute to ITSOnews please contact Sheila MacDonald, Communications Advisor, on , sheila.macdonald@itso.org.uk. Your news should be relevant to an existing or planned ITSO-compliant scheme. April ITSO Limited, Luminar House, Deltic Avenue, Milton Keynes MK13 8LW T: E: info@itso.org.uk