Account Based Ticketing (ABT) is seen to be the next step in passenger ticketing. Two key features of an ABT scheme are post-pay ticketing and capping. By charging the passenger for the trips they have made and not the trips they think they will make and then potentially capping the fare paid, ABT offers new levels of flexible ticketing, for both the operator and passenger, with a financial incentive for passengers to adopt.
For single zonal fares, this is easy to deliver as you just need to collect the tap on entry, which has been possible for a number of years now. But where graduated fare charts are in use (i.e. across most of the UK), it is not only necessary to know where the passenger has boarded, but also where they have alighted. Tapping on entry is not enough on its own.
Knowing that ABT cannot be realistically delivered in the UK in the absence of this, Ticketer have introduced Tap On / Tap Off (TOTO). By enabling this technology, operators are now able to provide daily capped fares, across services and zones to passengers. Boarding times are reduced as driver interaction is minimal, and operators can now get access to more data about their passengers traveling habits than they have ever had before.
Passengers simply need to tap their payment card on the reader when boarding to tap-in, and again when exiting the bus to tap-out. The tap-out transaction can either be made on the ETM, or on the secondary pole-mounted Tap Out Reader, introduced by Ticketer to improve passenger flow by allowing passengers to tap out remotely from the cab-mounted ETM. The external reader can be used for both tap-on and tap-off transactions, so avoiding any need for driver interaction, making boarding and disembarking much more efficient.
‘Tap On / Tap Off’ contactless has made it even easier to use our services without passengers needing to know the fare or how many journeys they’ll make. This is reflected in the strong take-up locally and the fact that fewer people are paying by cash on the bus than ever before. In turn, that can make boarding quicker, helping to make everyone’s journey a little bit smoother.”
Nick Hill, Commercial Director, Brighton & Hove Buses
Passengers have the freedom of travel knowing that they will only pay for the travel they made. Unlike tap-on-entry EMV schemes, the fare ultimately charged for that transaction is based on where the passenger boarded and alighted. If a passenger forgets to tap-out, either ‘an end line’ fare or a default fare can be applied via the back office.
Avoids the use of cash or even dialogue between the driver and passenger, thereby ensuring quicker boarding times.
Operators can use the boarding and alighting information to gather valuable data on passenger travel patterns and capacity enabling services to be improved if needed.
Passengers can still purchase tickets using their EMV card as they can do today. This is vital to ensure that whilst the main cardholder can board with a ‘tap’, they are still able to purchase tickets for other passengers (such as their spouse, children, dogs, etc) with their contactless card.
