Pay-as-you-go rail ticketing technology contract awarded

UK: The Rail Delivery Group has awarded Tracsis a multi-year contract to provide a Tap Converter system which will support the roll-out of pay-as-you-go National Rail travel in urban areas across the country. Tracsis said this will be a major step towards modernising rail ticketing.

Tap Converter will process all PAYG transactions from smartcards, contactless bankcards and mobile apps, taking into account discounts and capping to calculate the best fares. Train operators will have access to real-time fare information and settlement records to simplify financial processing.

The system could support multimodal travel, potentially enabling integration between rail, bus and tram services in a similar manner to London’s existing PAYG model.

The Tracsis technology is already in use at six train operating companies, and processed 2·25 million PAYG journeys in 2024. The company expects PAYG to grow further ahead of Tap Converter’s full roll-out in 2026, and it estimates that PAYG transactions could account for 10% to 15% of all journeys in the near future, particularly driven by commuter travel.

‘This contract is a significant milestone in our smart ticketing journey, offering operators a robust, future-ready platform to enhance ticketing flexibility for passengers’, said Tracsis CEO Chris Barnes on February 24.

Stewart Fox-Mills, Fares, Ticketing & Retail Programme Director at the Great British Railways Transition Team and RDG, said ‘we are committed to simplifying rail fares and making travel more flexible. The roll-out of PAYG in urban areas is a high priority, and we are excited to work with Tracsis to deliver the Tap Converter system, which will serve as the technical foundation for this transformation.’…