January 2015
Tyne and Wear Metro smart card ticketing service voted best in Europe
Rambus Ecebs, Nexus and Scheidt & Bachmann Awarded Best Smartcard Ticketing Service in Europe
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, along with its main contractors Ecebs and Scheidt & Bachmann, won Best Smart Ticketing Service at the 2015 Transport Ticketing Awards in London.
The award was secured amid fierce competition in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands.
More than 100,000 Metro passengers now use smart products to make their journeys, including the Pop card and concessionary smart cards for older and disabled people.
And the ease of smart travel has contributed to a healthy growth in Metro passenger numbers, which are up 8% in the last year.
Cllr Nick Forbes, Transport Lead for the North East Combined Authority and Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Local authorities are leading the way in the roll-out of new smart travel choices in our region and that has been recognised with this national award.”
“The introduction of smart ticketing on Metro, delivered by Nexus for the Combined Authority, has been popular with passengers, helped increase the number of people using Metro and set high standards for quality and ease of use.”
Russell McCullagh, Managing Director of Rambus Ecebs, added: “Rambus Ecebs has worked hard to deliver a world class ticketing system with our partners Nexus and Scheidt & Bachmann. The award win recognises the great success that has been achieved for travellers in the North East of England and we are proud to be part that.”
Matthew Hammond, Sales & Commercial Director of Scheidt & Bachmann, said: “I’m delighted to receive this prestigious award which recognises the company’s hard work and successful partnership.”
Metro, used by 38 million passengers a year, now has 225 new ticket machines plus smart gates and validators across 60 stations as part of the roll-out of smart travel.
Passengers can also buy travel at about 460 Payzone shops across North East England.
And they will be able to enjoy Pay As You Go travel choices later this year, alongside the full range of season tickets already on sale, as part of a local council-led project to provide a single smart technology for the whole region.
To read more on the entry please visit:Transport Ticketing Global Awards