A revolutionary smartcard ushering in an era of seamless travel and discount fares is only a few years away, according to transport minister Norman Baker.

The Liberal Democrat minister at the Department for Transport (DfT) has ordered civil servants to fast-track preparations for the national payment system, previously mooted for 2020.

Mr Baker’s pledge was described as visionary by transport campaigners, though operators balked at the practical obstacles and cost they are expected to bear.

Modelled on London’s Oyster, the smartcard would allow a passenger to pay without cash for bus, train and tram services anywhere in Britain.

Mr Baker told a national newspaper the card would help revolutionise attitudes to public transport by removing queues and simplifying ticket prices. Fares would fall as transport operators saved on administration. The benefits in reduced overheads and lower fares were put at £2bn.

‘It won’t be overnight but I’ve asked my officials to bring forward the old target date of 2020 to within a few years,’ he said.

Mr Baker admitted that incorporating national rail services would be complicated, but promised to phase the scheme, with bus operators as his first priority.

The Campaign for Better Transport said the plans were ‘radical and visionary’ and would give car users a real alternative. But the bus industry remains sceptical.

‘The idea of a national scheme is logistically and practically challenging,’ the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) stressed. London had a single authority and a simple fl at fare, in contrast with the complex arrangements across the country.

‘Smartcard technology is a means to an end, it’s a method of payment, not the grail,’ CPT communications director John Major added.

Some operators were investing in smartcard systems which were not compliant with the integrated smartcard standard favoured by the DfT, but more efficient.

Any national scheme would have to make commercial sense to operators, Mr Major said. Talks with the DfT so far are believed to have been limited to general issues rather than concrete proposals.