11.03.16
Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract
Manchester’s smart ticketing scheme has been awarded to two new contractors after the initial contract with Atos fell apart last year.
Applied Card Technologies (ACT) and Vix Technologies will now carry out smart ticketing services for Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
Atos cancelled their contract with TfGM last year after failing to deliver all the services and paid them an undisclosed amount of compensation to help them find a new contractor.
Smart ticketing, introduced in 2013, is used by 500,000 concessionary card holders on Manchester’s Metrolink tram service, and has begun to be introduced on its trains and buses.
Back in February, PayPoint launched its multi-operator smart ticketing service across the Greater Manchester area. The new service will allow passengers to purchase selected current System One travelcards to load onto a get me there or other ITSO compatible smart card at any of the 1,334 PayPoint retailers in the region.
The launch is the latest in a growing number of major smart transport services operated by PayPoint, using ACT’s Cloud Ticketing Service. It follows successful launches in Merseyside and Cardiff over the past two years.
Recently, Transport for the North recently outlined plans for a ‘Smart North’ scheme that would allow smart ticketing across the entire northern region.