Public Transport: North of England

(asked on 16th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the Transport for the North integrated pay as you go contactless bank card scheme, in particular the withdrawal of the main bus companies in the north from that scheme.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 28th January 2020

The Government pledged up to £150m in 2015 to Transport for the North (TfN), to support their plans for an integrated and smart travel programme across the North. Whilst several projects are now in delivery, during development of the ‘contactless bank card scheme’, TfN concluded that the full, multi-modal benefits of their original scheme design cannot be delivered without the involvement of commercial bus operators, who have now developed their own bank card ticketing schemes. TfN are currently in the process of developing alternative proposals, with a multi-modal solution across the North remaining their ambition for the future.

The Department continues to fully support TfN’s aspiration to deliver a step-change in the public transport experience for passengers in the North through an improved and modernised smart ticketing offer.

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