Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with cities outside London on interoperability of smart tickets between rail and bus services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond

The Department for Transport is working closely with nine major cities and regions outside London to establish how plans to accelerate smart ticketing on bus and rail can be achieved. The initiative known as the ‘Smart Cities Partnership’ and funded by the Department brings together the authorities concerned, the operators and the policy makers to address some of the technical and commercial challenges.

This programme will pave the way for other cities and authorities with similar ambitions to have smart interoperable ticket offers to passengers. It will also build upon the South East Flexible Ticketing programme which the Department is leading on which will see rail stations suitably equipped for smart ticketing, and more flexible smart ticket products on offer which are better suited to meet modern working and leisure patterns.