Train operator Northern has been Highly Commended by judges in the ‘Ticketing Enabler of the Year’ category at the eleventh annual Transport Ticketing Awards. Northern was one of ten finalists in the category.
The awards celebrate smart ticketing across the UK, and Northern’s commendation recognises its work in streamlining the process by which conductors and revenue protection team retail and validate tickets as well as report fare evasion incidents.
The system that Northern has deployed, working with four different suppliers, brings previously standalone systems into one handheld device.
It is already in use by 1,500 staff on-board Northern’s 2,500 services per day, allowing them to pass through the train more quickly, carry out their checks and process any travel incident reports more quickly than the old paper system would allow.
This software is part of a package of measures introduced by Northern that has helped halve the level of ticketless travel on their services over the last four years.
The handheld devices automatically synchronise with the train operator’s Debt Recovery & Prosecutions Unit systems, so passengers can now pay their Penalty Fare or Unpaid Fare within fifteen minutes of the report being issued, whereas previously they would have had to wait for a notice to arrive in the post.
Northern claims to have invested in the largest network of digital ticket infrastructure of any train operator in the country, making it easier than ever to buy a ticket via their app, website or one of more than 600 ticket machines across the network.
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “The technology we’re using has everything our revenue protection team needs to be effective in their role – and the results are clear. Ticketless travel has been reduced from 10% in 2019 to just under 5% today.
“This switch to a streamlined digital solution also helps our journey towards a greener railway by reducing the amount of waste paper created by the old system.
“We’re really proud to have been recognised for this work, which is now available for other train operators to adopt if they wish.”
Responses
They obviously didn’t look at the Huddersfield Sheffield line.
Well done Northern Rail and I have noted from my local paper some substantial fines being handed out to fare dodgers. However are those fines ever getting paid even partially and more importantly fully ? While I commend Northern Rail, was that initiative succesful in terms of cash monies realised from the fines levied ? Perhaps they would care to comment, because you can issue fines until Hell freezes over, but if they remain unpaid what have you gained ?