Question reference: S6W-26958
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 22 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 May 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to rapidly emulate the national roll-out of pay-as-you-go mobile in/out public transport ticketing, which was launched in April 2024 in Denmark by Rejsekort and Rejseplan with vendor FAIRTIQ, in order to meet its climate change and modal shift targets.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing smart integrated ticketing and has set out its intention to develop a new national integrated ticketing system for public transport in Scotland, across all modes of transport, to enable a system that can used for all elements of a journey.
To support delivery of this, the recently established National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board (NSTAB) which comprises operators, transport authorities, user groups and technical experts, is set to advise Ministers on the future of smart ticketing in Scotland, including on technological standards to enable smart integration between modes. The NSTAB is currently developing their work programme for the next 3 years.
FAIRTIQ has engaged with NSTAB and will present on their smart integrated ticketing solution at an upcoming board meeting. FAIRTIQ is one example of a ticketing platform provider, and it is expected that NSTAB will consider the full range of options available for Scotland and their respective implications on cost and infrastructure. Any resulting public procurement of a new ticketing system will be required to follow public sector procurement processes to ensure best value for money.
The Scottish Government, NSTAB and stakeholders will continue to work closely together on developing these options, in order to best determine the method of delivering a new national integrated ticketing system.