Fusions for the future

Marketing and Communications Manager, Ben Mansfield and Group Projects and Operations Manager, Alan Isherwood discuss the future of ticketing and upcoming projects with Elizabeth Howlett 

I sat down with Ben and Alan in the Harrogate offices. There was an executive table covered in Cityzap gun placemats, and this was echoed throughout the entire building. Frequently working side by side has given Ben and Alan a natural rapport. Their passion for Transdev was obvious once the interview began.

 

Contactless ticketing

Blazefield is known for its innovative ways of using technology to improve its services. When the desire to remove cash from buses became apparent, the team introduced smart-ticketing. By increasing smart ticket options and prepaid tickets, the need for cash on the bus is reduced which, in turn, helps speed up boarding times and improves the scheduled reliability of the service.

Ben Mansfield commented: [wlm_nonmember][…]

[/wlm_nonmember][wlm_ismember]“There isn’t one particular technology that we can hold up and say is the preferred method. I feel that in time, capped contactless payments will do it. Virtually everyone has a bank card with the ability to make contactless payments, whereas some passengers do not have a smartphone.”

Alongside its use of smartphone technology, Blazefield launched contactless payment options on its route 36 last year. By doing so, they became one of the first bus operators outside of London to offer cEMV payments.

Describing the switch to contactless ticketing and how that process was handled by Transdev and their departments, Ben said: “The contactless card payment terminal provides a similar experience to those in retail stores. We wanted to highlight the contactless payment option, because if the terminal looked like a normal on-board ticket machine, passengers could potentially overlook it. We did this to minimise any confusion.

“This is a great example of a project and marketing team collaboration. I worked with my team to make sure passengers were fully aware that the payment option was available. We created publicity explaining about contactless payment on the vehicles, alongside website articles and social media promotion. Alan ensured the technology; installation and training had been put in place.”

Alan Isherwood commented: “Parkeon were our ticket technology partners. They worked with us to incorporate contactless capability into the ticket machine, including securing all the necessary security certifications to counteract any attempted fraudulent activity. The ticket machine communicates with the card reader, to ensure that the amount the driver has selected is correctly debited once the card has been presented. I was tasked with building a training programme on how to do this. It’s not overly complicated.”

Ben added: “The security element was critical. Establishing secure contactless payment capability in a transport environment is more complicated than setting up contactless in a traditional retail environment, but that’s where the experience and expertise of our partners comes in. In stores, the machines take the payments and the banks guarantee the payments over a secure network. On buses, the on-board terminals work in deferred online mode which optimises the transaction time, with the localised card reader accepting and completing the transaction. Data is sent via GPRS when the ticket machine has a secure connection.

“We haven’t undertaken satisfaction surveys among customers specifically for contactless payments as of yet, but we can see through our social media activity, including Twitter, that passengers seem to like the contactless payments on route 36. There is a limit on these payments of £15 a day, per customer, set by The UK Cards Association.”

I asked Alan to tell me more about how the projects and ticketing departments work together: “As we are usually trailblazers with ticketing technology, my role is heavily based on making sure everything runs smoothly,” he explained.

“This is firstly in terms of installation and close liaison with the manufacturer. Secondly, I train the trainers on how to use the product and they train the drivers. Any new system requires collaboration between us and our partners to understand the consumer and operator requirement, and I am involved in the implementation process at every stage through to successful completion.”

Smart ticketing

Keighley Bus Company run a service called The Shuttle 662 that links Keighley, Bingley, Saltaire and Bradford. Ben explained that the majority of customers on that service use the Metro/M Card, an electronic top up card: “With smart-ticketing as a whole I think we are pretty good. On our Keighley services, 25% of customers use cash and 75% use smart-ticketing from mobile or card.”

He revealed that there is currently a project in conjunction with West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) trailing the next-generation of ticketing technology: “As Transdev were the first to use the MCard product and we have a very good relationship with WYCA, we are very excited about the project. Starting this month and ending in March 2017 we are inviting passengers to trial our new Beacon ticketing service.

“We have developed an app to go with this service that I will talk about in more detail later. The basis of the technology is that you will indicate that you want to catch a particular bus, say the Shuttle 662 via the app. The vehicle will be fitted with a dome on the interior. It will use the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) on your mobile to target your location. When you board the bus you will show the driver the app screen which will confirm what ticket you want to purchase. You will sit down and enjoy the bus journey, once you alight the bus and break the connection, the beacon device will calculate the fare based on the distance travelled.”

Alan added: “It may take a while to build people’s confidence up, but it works in the same way an Oyster card does on the underground and ensures you get the cheapest fare possible.”

Apps
To go alongside Beacon, Transdev have developed an app for passengers. Ben said: “The app is seen as an extension of the website. It has information for bus times and enables one click or instant ticket purchasing. Alongside purchasing tickets online you can buy day and season tickets on the mobile app. We are looking at expanding the functionality to include real-time information. It is a good area to push forward, due to some of the complications contactless has with payment limits.”

Alan said: “This technology can work with hop on hop off services but for now it’s just on the one route. Beacon technology is an interesting field in the transport sector. We are proud to be one of the first in conjunction with WYCA on such a large scale project. We are grateful to have them as a partner. It shows the level of trust and mutual respect we have for one another.”

Another app currently in development will serve Transdev Blazefield’s internal communications. Ben explained: “When we were developing contactless on the 36 route, there were a lot of complicated technical developments, so it can take a while to get going.

“When you are pioneering new technology, there will always be delays as you have nobody to learn from. Making sure everyone has the right information internally as well as externally is extremely important to a successful launch. This is where the staff app comes into play.”

Alan added: “A staff app is quite useful in this industry as there is a lot of paperwork that people need to have access to. With an app it is just a few clicks away. We would have things like procedures, driver duties, holiday request forms, payslips, and employee benefits readily available for staff to download.

“It can take days for a paper form to get through to the right people, but with this app it’s instantaneous. It has really streamlined our internal processes and made our workforce more productive.”

Projects

I asked Alan if he could reveal any of the projects currently underway at Blazefield.

“The biggest project would have to be the Driver CPC and refresher courses,” he said.

“We use it as a way of updating existing knowledge and training. It’s treated as a way to refresh customer service and defensive driving. It all reduces accidents and improves the services we run.

“We bring everyone together in a classroom environment. That is usually when we would go over updated legislation. Then we practice defensive driving. It is light-hearted so they have fun while they learn.

“I am also involved in filming situations encountered on the road, such as narrow gaps, and presenting the footage in the training. This is so we can practice it in the afternoon.”

Alan will brief the training team on what he wants the training videos to highlight, and he will then use those videos in the Driver CPC course. “We created a DVD for awareness of disabilities,” he explained. “It has been done to make our drivers more aware of issues and how to help. We especially focus on invisible disabilities. A person that is slurring or aggressive is not always drunk.”

Apart from DVD training, Blazefield does work with disabilities in the community. The operator will often take a bus up to Henshaw’s College in Knaresborough, and wheelchair users and partially sighted passengers can practice boarding. This is done to build up confidence levels and give people the chance to familiarise themselves in a secluded space.

Alan added: “There is a Talking Travel group in Yorkshire. This is a group for people with disabilities who use public transport, which I went along to. It is a wide range of disabled people who meet to discuss the issues they encounter with public transport. The group explained their specific needs and what they would require to make the experience of public transport smoother.

“I was confident that we could potentially meet all those requirements immediately. We have already implemented many of them and train our staff to that standard. I was proud to see that half way through, the group had used one of my training DVDs on YouTube.”[/wlm_ismember]