From this week a new smartcard for public transport users is being piloted by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive on two major bus routes in the S10 area of Sheffield.
More than 3,000 people will be part of the pilot which starts this week. It will be extended to thousands more as the trial for Yorcard is rolled out through the summer. If successful, the Yorcard pilot scheme could lead to the introduction of this new smartcard throughout Yorkshire and Humberside.
Eventually Yorcard could be available on all forms of public transport in these areas - bus, tram and train – making journeys across the region even easier.
The £9 million Yorcard pilot project is being funded by The Department for Transport, The Northern Way and Objective 1. This new payment method is designed to offer passengers an easy, secure, convenient and cost-effective way of paying for public transport across the region.
Earlier this year the technology was tested on school bus services operated by MASS Engineering serving Notre Dame School and has recently been extended to Tapton School in the area. Now the system is available on Stagecoach bus services Nos. 52 and 120 in Sheffield. The No. 52 bus service runs from Hillsborough, through Crookes and Broomhill, into Sheffield City Centre and across the city to Woodhouse. The No. 120 runs from Fulwood through Ranmoor and Broomhill, into Sheffield City Centre and across the city to Halfway.
Later in the summer the trial will be extended to some First bus services in Sheffield and to rail services between Sheffield and Doncaster.
The first people able to use Yorcard technology on the bus routes involved will be holders of English National Concessions passes. In due course people with MegaRiders and TravelMaster cards will be able to use it.
When people get on one of the buses equipped with Yorcard technology, they will just need to hold their pass against a reader which will “beep” to register that they are on the vehicle. It is quick and easy to use. In future people will be able to top up their Yorcard with cash or Direct Debit payments, just like topping up a mobile phone, and use this pay for their public transport.
The trial will continue into 2009 and, if it is successful, it is planned to roll-out Yorcard across all forms of public transport throughout Yorkshire and Humberside.
David Brown, Director General of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, which is leading the Yorcard trial, said: “This exciting pilot scheme is the first for this type of smartcard outside London.
“Over the next few months we will introduce Yorcard technology into our range of ticketing products, such as TravelMaster. Then we will be asking users of these services to try Yorcard for themselves and encourage them to give it a go.
”Our aim is to encourage more people to try using public transport and having one card which is easy to use, convenient and flexible should encourage them to do this.”
Rupert Cox, Commercial Director of Stagecoach Yorkshire, said: “Yorcard is an exciting new initiative that will make bus travel even easier for passengers in South Yorkshire. It is a quick and simple to use ticketing product that can be likened to topping up your mobile phone and will hopefully help encourage more people on to public transport.”
For more information on Yorcard, visit www.yorcard.com
For more information please contact Martin Nield, Communications Manager, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, on 0114 221 1339 or martinn@sypte.co.uk