UK: The Rail Delivery Group is looking at options to procure technology to support future regional and national implementation of pay-as-you-go ticketing.
RDG manages various technical systems on behalf of all train operators, and is undertaking market sounding for a proposed Tap Converter Service. Train operators would submit tap-ins from multiple token types including smart cards, contactless EMV bankcards and barcodes, and TCS would then determine the best price based on the latest timetable, disruption and fares data including concessions, discounts and fare-capping.
The calculated fare would then be supplied to the operator so it could charge the passenger and also submit records to the LENNON rail industry settlement system.
TCS would also provide management functions and facilitate access to the data. It would need to consistently and accurately calculate the correct fares, support multiple operators with varying customer propositions, be token-agnostic, integrate with other PAYG engines to support multimodal fare calculations, integrate with wider industry ecosystems, and provide transparency and predictability on a national basis, including fare calculations, incomplete journeys and maximum fares.
Expressions of interest have been invited by December 4, with the publication of a contract notice envisaged for March 2024.
RDG expects that any contracts which might be awarded would be novated to Great British Railways in due course as the industry’s ‘guiding mind’ organisation is established.
