Integrated ticketing two years away: ThePost.ie


TCH Archives > Sunday Business Post > 2005/09/04 > Integrated ticketing two years away

Integrated ticketing two years away
Sunday, September 04, 2005 - By Niamh Connolly, Public Affairs Reporter
The €30 million integrated ticketing scheme, which was due to be launched in December, has been delayed after the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) failed to select a company to run the project.

Integrated ticketing will allow customers to buy a single ticket covering all public transport, including the Luas, the Dart, mainline trains and buses, as well as some private coach operators. Luas and private operators use electronic smart cards, while Dublin Bus has its own automated tickets.

The RPA is expected to seek further tenders for the contract, 12 months after five international companies were short-listed for consideration.

Last January, three companies -Alphyra, Cubic and Fujitsu withdrew from the tendering process, leaving just two firms in the race, ERG of Australia and Turkish firm KenKart.

However, the companies were deemed unsuitable. “No solution appropriate for Dublin and satisfactory to the RPA has emerged from the procurement process to date,” said a spokesman for the agency, “therefore no company has been appointed'‘.

So far, the state agency has spent €8.4 million on the design of the scheme, though little progress has been made in its roll-out. The Department of Transport has asked the RPA for full details of its spending to date.