Smartcard scheme rolled out across the region of West Yorkshire

The UK's largest smartcard scheme outside of London has been expanded across a network of 700 retail vendors.

Bus and train companies collaborated with West Yorkshire Combined Authority to launch the MCard in April 2014, which enables people to travel across the region's bus and rail network without the need for tickets.

700 retailers were fitted with travelcard readers towards the end of last year, with all terminals meeting the requirements of the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation (ITSO) specification.

All bus and rail companies have invested in new technology in order to be able to read and record card usage on vehicles, with rail companies also adapting station gates to operate using the new smart MCards. Extensive training has also been carried out to ensure that bus and rail companies are prepared for the launch of the MCard across the network.

The training includes reminders for vendors to ensure they provide customers with a paper counterpart on a grey laminate, which is issued alongside the MCard, for use on trains and with the small number of bus companies that are yet to equip their vehicles with smart ticket machines. Paper counterparts will show what ticket product has been loaded onto the smartcard.

Chairman of West Yorkshire Ticketing Company, Richard Soper said: “All the metropolitan areas are moving towards ITSO smart ticketing for their multi-operator multi-modal tickets. West Yorkshire is at the forefront of this activity and this is the biggest operational scheme to date outside of London."

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