British railway reform: how can train companies use contactless ticketing to adopt pay-as-you-go fares?
The British railway is set to see significant reform in the coming months, as the UK’s Transport Secretary has committed to scrapping return rail tickets and introducing digital contactless ticketing.
As an app and web developer for the transport industry, we thought we’d look at the implications of what these new measures could mean for rail companies.
How to use contactless ticketing to maximise innovation in the rail industry
Regardless of whether you think the railway system should be nationalised or privatised, most of us will agree that the British railway industry needs modernising. Passengers’ journeys must be improved and systems must be simplified.
But how can rail companies maximise the innovation that’s being developed in smart pay-as-you-go ticketing?
The current transport secretary has committed to roll out pay-as-you-go ticketing in certain parts of the country, enabling tap-in tap-out ticketing in areas outside of London.
Pay-as-you-go contactless ticketing systems
Website development for Nottingham Contactless
We built the Nottingham Contactless website for Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City Transport, NET and Linkbus services. The system, developed by INIT, is the first Oyster-style contactless ticketing system in the country outside of London. The system gives customers the best fare regardless of journey type.
The Nottingham Contactless system calculates the best price for all the journeys you make during one day and will cap it at the standard price of a day ticket. This technology is similar to Transport For London’s ticketing system, which caps the price of daily travel, regardless of the mode of transport you’re using.
We developed the Nottingham Contactless website to enable passengers to check their recent journeys and transactions by entering their card details.
Click here to read more about the Nottingham Contactless ticketing system
It is mobile ticketing that enables this type of ticketing system. Smart tickets enable passengers to use their phone as their ticket, whether this is by using QR codes, NFC tokens or Bluetooth (read our blog on how mobile ticketing technology actually works).
Not only is mobile ticketing technology important for the classic ‘buy before you board’ tickets, it also enables us to use pay-as-you-go fares using contactless cards at stations.
App development for NETGO! and Tramlink
This technology isn’t exclusive to the UK’s rail industry. Train, bus and tram networks can all benefit from the advancements of mobile ticketing. If train companies are having to modernise their systems, it will be paramount for all transport businesses to follow suit.
NETGO! is a mobile ticket app for Nottingham’s tram network. We developed the complete solution for Tramlink Nottingham, including the iPhone and Android apps, the backend systems to drive and sell tickets as well as the customer management software (CMS).
Using the app is a quick and simple way to purchase tram tickets using a mobile phone. Single, Day, Week, Group and Season tickets can be bought in a matter of seconds.
One particular advantage of the NETGO! app is the flexibility to add new features, allowing it to continually adapt and grow to new ticketing rules and systems. Our flexible ticketing systems can also be implemented across train and bus networks with ease.
If transport companies are looking to modernise their services, investing in smart mobile ticketing is crucial.
If you’d like to speak to specialist transport app developers about your ticketing systems, please get in touch.