Plans put forward for new transport ticketing

Reported today on Irish Examiner

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Plans put forward for new transport ticketing

Plans for the introduction of "next-generation ticketing" on public transport in Ireland are being progressed in a move which ultimately could see the Leap Card being replaced by 2027.The National Transport Authority (NTA) has issued a market consultation notice to engage with potential service providers as part of its plans to advance the implementation of an Account Based Ticketing (ABT) system across the bus, rail, and light-rail network.It will allow passengers to pay for their journey through mobile phones, bank cards, or official ID card or passport, removing the need to carry a special card for commuting.

The NTA said the introduction of ABT would facilitate a move towards cashless operations with all self-service ticketing to initially operate on urban bus services which would require no interaction between passengers and drivers.ABT will validate payments through contactless debit and credit cards including Apple Pay and Google Pay, while there are also plans to introduce equipment to accept QR codes and electronic tokens as methods to pay for travel.The NTA said some of the challenges with existing forms of bus fares is that taking payments from passengers boarding at bus stops is the second-biggest cause of delays after traffic congestion.An NTA spokesperson said cash payments were still common among some passengers and accounted for up to 20% of all journeys, which slows down boarding time."Even with Leap Card, the complexity of stages means a large percentage of passengers have to interact with the driver with resultant delays at bus stops due to the fact that the NTA does not currently have a flat fare and operates a tag-on only system," the spokesperson said.

He claimed delays caused by such interactio

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