A staggering 80 per cent of rail journeys in the UK are still made using magnetic stripe tickets, a technology that was first introduced into the rail industry 35 years ago! Working in partnership with government, train operators are actively working to digitise ticketing and simplify rail fares. In his closing keynote at TRANSPORT Smart Class, London & South England 2018, Southeastern Railway’s Head of Retail, John Backway, pointed out that, historically, progress with new forms of ticketing has been slow, and alternatives to magnetic stripe ticketing have not proved as successful as schemes such as Transport for London’s Oyster. John outlined three interrelated initiatives aiming to address this challenge – the Department for Transport’s Smart Ticketing on National Rail programme; the Rail Delivery Group’s Fares Reform consultation; and the joint RDG/DfT Future Connected Ticketing project.
To view the slides from John’s presentation, please complete the short download form below: