Govt promises integrated ticketing by Sept '09

[constellation]

Taken from BreakingNews.ie

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mheyqlcwojau/


Govt promises integrated ticketing by Sept '09

The most senior official at the Department of Transport has said an integrated ticketing system for public transport is being developed as quickly as possible.

Secretary-General Julie O'Neil has said she is personally monitoring progress and said the system will be in place by September of next year.

The budget has been set at €50m - however it was originally capped at €30m in 2002.

Conor Faughnan from the AA has said Ireland's ambitions for integrated ticketing are in "a shambles".

[Derek Wheeler]

Its been discussed to death here over the years. But perhaps this article from www.informer.ie last December explains where we are at in very simple and understandable terms.

Its currently a case of 2010 rather than 2009.

INTEGRATED TICKETING

By Derek Wheeler

The concept of integrated ticketing for public transport in Dublin was first mooted in the late 1990s. In 2000, Mary O’Rourke the then Public Enterprise Minister, approved the introduction of a smartcard system, to be in place by 2002. A smartcard essentially allows you to prepay on the card and then use it to travel on all Luas, rail and bus services in the Dublin area. However by 2002 the system was not in place and it wasn’t until the Luas was launched in 2004 that smartcards were introduced. But these particular cards were only valid on the Luas and a private bus operator. In effect it wasn’t integrated ticketing in any meaningful manner.

The RPA (Rail Procurement Agency) in 2002, were entrusted with the setting up of an integrated ticketing system for Dublin’s public transport network. At the time commentators expressed shock and bewilderment that an organisation such as the RPA should have responsibility for such a project. In essence the RPA was to oversee the development of Luas and Metro through public private partnerships. Loading the concept of integrating ticketing onto its back seemed to make no sense.

The passing of time has proven that assessment to be rather correct. Since the establishment of the RPA in 2002, the integrating ticketing project has stumbled into near oblivion. As things stand, The RPA operates a very limited version of the smartcard on the Luas. Dublin Bus is developing their own version and low and behold, it was announced this week that Irish Rail are launching their own smartcard. So effectively we have the 3 main providers of public transport in Dublin operating on individual stand alone smartcard systems. The only saving grace is that each of them insists that they can be made work together.

Tim Gaston who is director of the “Integrated Ticketing Project board” stated this week that, “the RPA hoped to launch limited integration with the "smartcard" for use on both Luas and rail services in September 2009, but a fully integrated card for all journeys on any type of public transport and some private buses would not be available for at least a year after that.”

So the wait goes on, while individual transport providers plan ahead and nobody appears to be really managing the project with any sense of reality. A projected date of 2010 for the roll out of integrated ticketing in Dublin is open to debate, doubt and perhaps disbelief.

[chris]

From www.rpa.ie

"The design of the current Smart Card ticketing framework has been substantially completed and RPA has received approval from the Minister for Transport to proceed with procuring an organisation to build the required systems."

"The next step is to commence a procurement for an organisation to provide and implement the necessary systems. It is envisaged that this phase shall take 27 months from commencement to first use of the ITS card"

Just noticed this had changed from "We are currently waiting for the Transport Minister to give this the go-ahead." When did the Minister decide to proceed? Take it it means end of next year is out then.

[Colm Donoghue]

Tim Gaston in the rpa told me there was only going to be a Dublin integrated ticketing system.

and it wasn't going to cover all forms of public transport.

there was also some guff about how the rpa managed to introduce TWO non-integrated smart card ticketing systems, one for trams and another for Morton's busses.

[CSL]

RPA have just gone out to tender for bus ticketers

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY101899

[Colm Moore]

and it wasn't going to cover all forms of public transport.Whatever about premium services, it realy needs to cover all the standard services.

[ThomasJ]

Tim Gaston in the rpa told me there was only going to be a Dublin integrated ticketing system.


In Last Wednesdays Independent

Commuters must wait another two years for travel 'smart card'
By Paul Melia


Wednesday April 30 2008

THE full roll-out of an integrated ticket for Dublin commuters will not happen until the end of 2010, almost eight years after it was first announced.

The "smart card" allowing Dublin commuters to use one ticket on bus, Luas and rail is expected to cost €49.6m, the Department of Transport revealed yesterday.

The integrated system will be launched in September 2009 but only for Dublin Bus, Luas and Morton's Coaches -- a private transport operator.

It will be extended to Irish Rail, DART and commuter services over the following year, while Bus Eireann will undertake a "trial project".

A tender document for a consultant on the project says that the full roll-out is not expected until the end of 2010.

Fine Gael Transport spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said: "It seems to me that this is about getting everyone (the transport operators) to agree how much they will get from the ticket," he said.

"It doesn't make sense to me to be employing more consultants, it's a bit much."

- Paul Melia



http://www.independent.ie/national-news/commuters-must-wait-another-two-years-for-travel-smart-card-1362603.html

[Derek Wheeler]

So what happens when/if the DTA come into being???? Its in their remit and is perhaps the biggest expectation. RPA seem to be driving ahead and it still appears to be rudderless.

[Colm Moore]

I honestly don't understand why IÉ can't join this - with entry and exit validation at most stations and tag-on tag-off at Luas stops, it should all be very easy.

But it never is in this country, is it.

[Thomas Ralph]

Actually there is exit validation at less than half (and I would probably stretch to less than a quarter) of stations in the short hop zone and a decent number of stations (outside the DART radius) don't even have entry validation.

[Mark]

A poster on boards.ie (tolltag thread) very cleverly picked up on it, does anyone else find it amusing that only in a matter of months our major toll road is now contactless ticketing only - yet our transport department still maintain an archaic view on public transport fares?

[Derek Wheeler]

A poster on boards.ie (tolltag thread) very cleverly picked up on it, does anyone else find it amusing that only in a matter of months our major toll road is now contactless ticketing only - yet our transport department still maintain an archaic view on public transport fares?

Thats because there's real money at stake on the roads. Public transport is a drain. We all know they can do integrated ticketing on public transport, but we all know that there's little excheuqer insentive.;)

The boardsie is just recounting what every hack, jack, wannabe, drunk, tramp and junkie is talking about. Its been discussed on various radio shows and been the topic of a few letters to ed in the daily rags. Whats the point in highlighting it as it will just get swallowed up in the FF spin of death and be gloosed over by a thick electorate. We've been here before in different outfits.;)

[Mark]

Ive just been told that RPA have appointed IBM for the ticketing project. More news to follow.

[Mark Gleeson]

Was in the Irish Times on Saturday, can't find it online

IBM is providing the back office systems, clearing services etc

[Mark]

Found this..

http://www.rpa.ie/cms/download.asp?id=839

Its more 'smart card system' than 'integrated ticketing systen' to be honest. I wonder will the ticket barriers on metro north accept mag strips?

[Thomas Ralph]

Its more 'smart card system' than 'integrated ticketing systen' to be honest. I wonder will the ticket barriers on metro north accept mag strips?

I imagine they will, for the purposes of single tickets if nothing else.