A single, please!: The skåne smartcard project

A new ticket system now makes it easier to commute across county and provincial borders.

Work has just started in Sweden on replacing the current ticket system with one based on the contact-less smart card. The system is to be tested and commissioned during the next two years. Once in place, the five most southerly counties will operate the same system, making it possible for travellers to use the same ticket irrespective of distance and type of public transport they use. The new technology simplifies paying, speeds up embarking and improves the quality of travel statistics.

Skånetrafiken is the public transport company in Sweden’s most southerly province, Skåne. It is a public administration that reports to Region Skåne, the authority responsible for traffic in the province. In terms of population, Skåne (with 1.2 million inhabitants) is the third largest region in Sweden after Stockholm and Gothenburg; some 100 million journeys are made on Skånetrafiken annually. Skånetrafiken is relatively new having been created in 1999 when two counties were merged to become Region Skåne, since when journeys with public transport have increased by 45 per cent and its market share by 3 percentage points. The aim is that the number of journeys on public transport will increase by at least three per cent per annum up to 2015.

These developments have been made possible by both expanding the service offered and increasing the seat occupancy rate on existing traffic. Traffic costs are to an increasing extent paid for by passengers, rising from 59 per cent to about 70 per cent with the remaining 30 per cent coming from Region Skåne. At the same time, turnover has virtually doubled. Developments in the number of journeys made by public transport in Skåne since 1999 are shown below.

Various types of transport across county borders

Skånetrafiken is responsible for all public transport in Skåne – buses in ten towns; regional buses between main centres; express commuter buses that take the most direct, fastest route as well as smaller routes that even stop at minor bus stops and rail traffic, both express trains and those that stop at all stations. It also provides services to order, for example in rural areas where there is no demand for a regular service, for journeys to and from healthcare treatment and a service for the aged who for any reason cannot use buses or trains.

Skånetrafiken is also the Swedish authority responsible for rail traffic on the Öresund Bridge to Denmark with DSB as its Danish counterpart. The Bridge was opened five years ago this Summer and the trains from Denmark now go to a wide number of destinations in Skåne and Sweden. This comprehensive service is one reason why an increasing number of people are opting to travel by train. During the six years of Skånetrafiken’s existence, train travel has increased by 125 per cent. Skånetrafiken now has a problem with seating capacity and has therefore placed several orders for new rolling stock.

Simplicity – the key to success

“One reason for this success is that, despite the many different types of transport and the geographical distances, we have succeeded in simplifying travel for our customers,” says Jan-Henrik Pettersson, commercial manager at Skånetrafiken.

“The first thing we did when the public service companies of the former counties were merged was to create a ticket and price system for the whole region, the Skåne Tariff. Instead of travellers needing to buy several tickets for a journey between counties or if they needed to switch between urban and regional buses or trains, all that was needed with the Skåne Tariff was one ticket. The actual cost depended on how many zones they crossed; then it was up to them which way they travelled in the zones for which they had paid.”

When the Öresund Bridge was opened in July 2000, making it possible to take a train between Skåne and Denmark, Skånetrafiken and DSB agreed on an Öresund Tariff constructed in the same way as the one in Skåne. When customers buy a ticket between, say, Malmö and Copenhagen, they can continue their journey into Copenhagen by bus, metro and local trains having got off the train at the main railway station, Huvudbanegården. Obviously they still use the same ticket; simplicity is the key to success.

“But the ticket machines have now reached retirement age. They require extensive service and maintenance and we have significant problems with demagnetisation of the cards that renders them useless, something that causes major inconvenience for travellers and puts an extra burden on our staff. It’s time therefore to invest in a new system,” explains Jan-Henrik Pettersson.

New ticket system

The new ticket system will also be based on zones. Customers pay for the number of zones through which they travel and can switch to and from buses and trains to complete their journey using the same ticket. And the new card will not only be valid in Skåne and Greater Copenhagen on Zeeland (Själland) but also in a far greater number of places. Skånetrafiken has been working with other county public transport companies in the purchasing negotiations and the neighbouring counties of Blekinge, Halland, Kronoberg and Jönköping have bought the same system. This will make it easier to commute across county borders. One advantage of five county public transport companies adopting the same system is the large volume of equipment required, making this a very interesting project for the suppliers involved. At the same time the buyers can share any future development costs.

“The new contact-less travel-card will also work in other places in Sweden and Denmark. Through card organisation RKF, we have produced a standard for the cards. This means that they can be used to pay for journeys in places such as Stockholm, Gothenburg and Denmark that have a different supplier but that use the common standard,” says Jan-Henrik Pettersson.

Advantages for travellers and county public transport companies

The new system comes from Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd and provides a number of new opportunities:

Several functions on the same card

Instead of having a season ticket for commuting and a discount card for paying for other journeys, one card can be used for both. Customers come to an agreement (contract) with us on which routes they want to commute, say Malmö-Lund. Other journeys/routes are paid through the purse function. In the purse on the card customers can store their travel-money and use it when needed.

The most common journey

The machine that validates the card automatically identifies the pre-programmed route the customer has chosen. This means that the bus driver does not need to ask for payment as the cash function on the card is automatically debited with the correct amount. Customers who go by train do not have to insert the card in a machine and select their destination as they do today but simply walk past a validating machine and hold up their card so the machine can read it. Skånetrafiken will not use gates. Tickets will be checked by onboard staff periodically.

Internet purchases

Customers can charge their cards via the Internet by transferring money from their bank accounts.

Subscription

Those who do not want the bother of having to remember to fill up their commuter cards can choose to take out a subscription. The correct sum is then drawn from their accounts to start a new period. The purse can also be automatically credited when it goes below a certain range.

Blocking

An important feature is that customers can quickly block lost cards with the new system to stop other people using it. Customers can also get refunds for cash on the card or for unused commuter travel.

Validation

The ability to block a card is a feature of a smart card and that all journeys are validated in the same way. This makes it possible to block a card and simply collect reliable travel statistics that can be used to improve traffic planning.

“The new system is faster with contact-less cards that passengers simply hold in front of a card reader instead of having to insert them. As there are many who travel with us and card-holders can pay quickly, considerable time will be saved. For example, buses will not have to wait so long at bus stops. Service and maintenance will also be much easier and cheaper”, says Jan-Henrik Pettersson.

Technical data

Skånetrafiken is investing approximately SEK 150 million in the new ticket system. New ticket machines will be installed at 56 railway stations and on board around 1,000 urban and regional buses. New equipment is also being installed at customer centres and staff on the trains will have new handheld computers to be able to sell tickets to people who have not had time to buy a ticket at the station.

There will be a new validating system in buses with a printer for receipts that can identify customers’ smart cards and debit them automatically. Even so, it will still be possible to pay cash.

As today, there will be two types of ticket machines at stations: one that can read smart cards and bank and credit cards and another that also can be used for cash payment.

Purchasing the ticket system was split into two, the main system and subsystem. The main system consists of all the equipment needed on the buses – ticket machines, communication system, central system and depot systems. The subsystem is the ticket machines at the stations.

“The best bid for both came from Cubic Transportation System Limited. They will therefore supply both systems. This company already supplies Skånetrafiken with ticket machines for buses. It will be good that the central system will bring together all the parts, it will make it easier to operate”, says Mats Lundberg, the technical project manager at Skånetrafiken.

Timeplan

The project has been underway for two years. Until recently it has been a question of specifying needs and ordering the right system. It has now reached the implementation stage; apart from technical development, it will be important to train all the staff who are going to work with the new system – around 3,500 bus drivers, train conductors and other staff, not forgetting educating the customers of course.

Before the whole ticket system can be commissioned in 2007, it will be tested in a smaller and a larger pilot test. It is planned to start these tests in the second half of 2006.

Better customer service

This change makes it possible to offer customers a better and more individual service. At the same time as it will be possible for them to take out subscriptions for their cards, pay by autogiro or via the Internet, block their cards and so on, they can also supply Skånetrafiken with information about their travel habits, interests and requests.

“The information we receive from our customers when, for example, they take out a commuter subscription or in some other way become members of our ‘customer club’ makes it possible for us to provide customised traffic information and updates of timetables and so on. They can also follow up their travels through personal Web sites on the Internet. Working with other companies and organisations we also expect to be able to create added value for our customers through attractive offers and discounts based on the customers’ needs,” says Jan-Henrik Pettersson.

“It may be public transport, but from now on we will be able to treat our customers as individuals.”