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| The Public Transport Authority of New South Wales (PTA) |
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5 November 1997 The first step toward a fully integrated private and public transport ticketing system was announced today by Transport Minister Brian Langton, honouring an election commitment to provide integrated travel on public and private transport. Advertisements for expressions of interest to develop the fully integrated ticket system began today, and will appear in three major Sydney and national newspapers over the next few days. "Integrated ticketing is an unprecedented initiative in New South Wales - it will allow for the first time travel with one ticket on private buses and ferries, CityRail, State Transit, buses and ferries and Light Rail," Mr Langton said. "While passengers across Sydney already enjoy the benefits of integration between State Transit buses and ferries and CityRail trains, full integration will extend this to cover travel an private bus and ferry services." This will especially benefit the people of Sydney’s West, who rely more on private bus services than any other part of Sydney." Mr Langton said the integrated ticketing initiative - a Labor Party election commitment - was helped along by the work of the Carr Government's Public Transport Authority. "The Public Transport Authority was established to achieve better integration across all modes of transport and this initiative is its first major achievement." "Following successful talks between the various public and private transport providers and the Public Transport Authority, the many obstacles to developing such a system have been sufficiently addressed to reach this stage." "Public transport users will look forward to the convenience of not having to purchase tickets every time they change from one transport operator's services to another." "Fully integrated ticketing also has the additional benefit of reducing travel time particularly on buses as drivers need to issue fewer tickets." "And the information generated by a new integrated system will allow public transport providers to better plan their services and make better use of existing resources." The specifications for Sydney's integrated ticketing system, which will bring together a variety of ticketing systems currently in use, have been jointly developed by State Transit, CitRail, Sydney Light Rail, the a Bus and Coach Association, and the taxi industry. Mr Langton added that the a specifications a for the new system have been designed to attract innovative solutions to the problem of integration as well as accepting the wide variety of ticket types currently in use, including mechanical , magnetic stripe and smart card technologies. Designers of the new system will need to take into account all current automatic ticketing systems and be flexible enough to ensure that new technologies can exist with current ticketing technology. "By making public transport easier to use and therefore more attractive, integrated ticketing will lead to an upsurge in public transport use, which is one of the Carr Governments strategies to reduce private car dependence and improve Sydney's air quality," Mr Langton said. For more information click here. If you wish you may click here to send email re this project. Contact: Rebecca Nicholson - (02) 9268-2997 (0419) 25-6103 |