The Government is set to miss another milestone on its seemingly endless journey towards smart ticketing, despite the transport secretary trumpeting the extension of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology in a major speech.
Last year, The Department for Transport awarded Transport for London (TfL) a £68m programme to extend contactless technology to 233 stations outside the boundaries of TfL’s Oyster system.
According to a TfL paper the government required the majority of the stations to be delivered by May 2024, with extension of PAYG to all stations to be complete by the end of 2024.
The programme split delivery into two phases, with an initial phase of 53 stations; and a ‘main’ phase.
The paper stated: ‘Both DfT and TfL are aiming to complete a significant number of the initial 53 stations in calendar year 2022 (with any remaining initial stations completed by the end of financial year 2022/23).'
However, in a major speech, transport secretary Mark Harper said: ‘I can confirm the extension of Pay-As-You-Go ticketing: with 52 stations across the south-east set to be completed this year including on Chiltern, London Northwestern, and C2C services.’
A DfT spokesperson confirmed to Transport Network that the announcement is part of its commitment to extend PAYG to additional stations across the South East and that the 52 stations represent the first phase of delivery.
The spokesperson added: ‘Phase 2 is in development and we will announce further details on this in due course.’
The TfL paper noted that initial staged stations ‘had been selected as an early deliverable due to validation equipment already being installed at the stations and the existing fares structure’.
It added that the work was similar in scope and complexity to a number of previous PAYG extensions that TfL had successfully completed at locations including Epsom, Luton Airport Parkway and Reading.
Transport Network approached TfL for an update on its progress under the contract.
It did not provide any details. However, chief technology officer Shashi Verma said: ’We are delighted to be delivering this expansion of pay as you go with contactless across the South East for the DfT, helping to share our experience in smartcard ticketing with the wider rail industry.
‘This will both help rail customers outside London travel more flexibly and conveniently, and support the wider economic recovery of the South East through easier access to rail travel.’
A map from the 2019 consultation
The package dated back to a 2019 DfT consultation that noted the potential for a joined-up PAYG travel area focusing on travel ‘to, from and around London by rail’, within which passengers would be able to travel seamlessly between all rail services and on the TfL network, all using the same PAYG scheme.
That consultation noted that the DfT had allocated Transport for the North (TfN) £150m to deliver a PAYG scheme across train, bus and tram services.
However, in February 2021 dropped the project, which had missed key deadlines, after the Government withdrew funding.
It followed the disastrous the DfT’s disastrous South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme, which overspent its initial £45m budget by £9m but achieved very little.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
