Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Smart Ticketing is here

Smart ticketing is coming to the Tees Valley. This means that over time more and more transactions on buses will become 'cashless'. It will also mean that trips made using passes like those for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) will be recorded automatically. There are well over 100,000 ENCTS smart passes already in circulation in the Tees Valley alone.

The introduction of smart ticketing will not only speed up boarding on buses, it will enable passengers to have passes that can be topped up without having to travel to get replacement passes. Smart passes will also help reduce fraud because they are far more secure.

Smart ticketing involves the use of smart cards with special readers designed to speed up transactions, often using the latest 'contactless' technology. You can see a video showing how people in London can quickly board buses using smart ticketing systems on the following YouTube link:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBIBfOt__sQ

Go North East has already upgraded it buses with a smart ticketing system that is now in use on local services, including the X9 and X10. Stagecoach's system is scheduled to go live in June 2011 and Arriva's buses will have a smart ticketing system in place by the end of the year.

The Tees Valley authorities are part of NESTI (North East Smart Ticketing Initiative) which has been set up to oversee the development of technology to support smart cards in the North East region. For more details visit the NESTI website at http://www.nesti.org.uk/