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Parkeon

 

'IFF' ONLY TRAVEL WAS ALWAYS THIS EASY

2nd November 2010

Thirty thousand Cardiff Bus customers being offered a £3 travel incentive to join one of the UK’s first commercial ITSO schemes.

The IFF card is being launched by the operator in a drive to replace paper ticketing with smartcards capable of carrying three distinct products. The card is read on-vehicle alongside the Welsh national concessionary card by Parkeon’s Wayfarer150 ticketing platform and can hold period area tickets, a carnet of journeys or be used as an electronic purse. It can be recharged either on-bus or at the company’s travel centre.

“This new smartcard scheme will transform the passenger experience,” says Cardiff Bus Associate Commercial Director Peter Heath. “Instead of searching for the exact money, our customers will now be able to load their cards with the travel products they need and then simply present their cards on the contactless reader installed on each bus linked to the ticket machine. This will make travel more convenient and speed-up the boarding process.”

The company, which is crediting the first 30,000 cards with a £3 incentive, also expects the IFF card to enhance operational efficiency, with transaction data automatically transferred to the Parkeon back-office suite for reconciliation. It also allows card users to go ‘overdrawn’ by £3, so ensuring that passengers – including school children – are never stranded through lack of funds.

Gavin Trimnell, Head of UK Sales for Parkeon, said that more operators were beginning to exploit the commercial advantages of ITSO. “Cardiff Bus is among the first wave of companies to launch commercial ITSO products, opening up the potential not only for innovative local smartcard schemes but for products that cross geographic areas.”

The card is linked to the Sustainable Travel City scheme - run by Cardiff Council and the Welsh Assembly Government - and aims to help the Welsh capital to become a Sustainable Travel City by encouraging bus use around the city centre.

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Philip Colley, Harvest

Tel: 023 9244 9655 - 07785 306378 - philip.colley@harvestpr.co.uk