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| Subject: ERG-PCL and Partners Introduce Smart Cards into South Wales 02/04/2001 | |
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Date Posted: 00:26:50 11/21/02 Thu http://www.erggroup.com/news/mediarel/mediadisplay.cfm?MediaRelease=161 ------------------------------------------------------------ Date Of Media Release 02/04/2001 Title ERG-PCL and Partners Introduce Smart Cards into South Wales Contact Melissa Frost Phone +61 8 9273 1879 Fax +61 8 9283 1208 Email mfrost@erggroup.com Division ERG Group ------------------------------------------------------------ ERG-PCL and Partners Introduce Smart Cards into South Wales A demonstration project funded by The National Assembly for Wales, known as the “SWIFT Smart Card Scheme” went live today. The introduction of the system, designed and installed by ERG, was made possible due to a National Assembly grant of £600,000 awarded in July 2000 to the SWIFT (South Wales Integrated Fast Transit) consortium of authorities in South Wales. ------------------------------------------------------------ The purpose of the grant was to establish a smart card scheme in the Caerphilly to Cardiff public transport corridor. The scheme will demonstrate the potential of the technology in light of the decision to introduce free concessionary travel throughout Wales from April 2002. ------------------------------------------------------------ Specification, procurement and management of the contract is being undertaken by MVA which was appointed following earlier work on ticketing for SWIFT. MVA has experience in the development of the United Kingdom public transport interoperability specification for Integrated Transport Smart card Organisation Limited (ITSO) and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). ------------------------------------------------------------ The system supply and data management is being undertaken by ERG which has outsourced the card issuing, card management, transaction processing and Call Centre to Prepayment Cards Limited (PCL) – the joint company of ERG, the three largest transport operators in the UK and Sema Group – and initially covers the Caerphilly district. ERG will receive approximately $1.5 million for the initial contract which allows for further expansion throughout the SWIFT authorities with the consequential benefits of economies of scale being shared with the local authorities. ------------------------------------------------------------ The initial rollout will involve the issue of approximately 30,000 cards to all Caerphilly residents eligible for concessionary travel and the provision of readers on all buses operating between Caerphilly and Cardiff. Expansion to the entire Cardiff Bus and Stagecoach Wales & West fleet of almost 600 vehicles will be completed during April and May enabling Caerphilly CBC to undertake the majority of its concessionary travel reimbursement through smart cards later this year. ------------------------------------------------------------ The issue and distribution of the Concessionary Travel cards is being undertaken on behalf of ERG-PCL by Post Office Counters Ltd and ESP Systex. All cards will be personalised with a photograph and are expected to have a life of at least three years before reissue is required. ------------------------------------------------------------ The system software and hardware is ITSO compatible and will enable migration to full ITSO compliance. ------------------------------------------------------------ The SWIFT Smart Card Scheme will be the first in the United Kingdom to fully embrace the principles put forward by ITSO and intends to be among the first to offer its users such benefits when it becomes practical. -END- ------------------------------------------------------------ BACKGROUND INFORMATION ------------------------------------------------------------ SWIFT ------------------------------------------------------------ The SWIFT consortium is made up of six local authorities (Caerphilly, Cardiff, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr and Vale of Glamorgan) which act together in the promotion of public transport in the region. This includes the development of initiatives in partnership with the bus and rail operators. ------------------------------------------------------------ MVA ------------------------------------------------------------ MVA is a multidisciplinary international consultancy specialising in transport policy and planning, traffic engineering and planning, social and market research and information systems, with 400 staff based at offices in both the UK and overseas and annual turnover in excess of 20 million. Established in 1968, MVA is a subsidiary of the international consulting engineers, SYSTRA. ------------------------------------------------------------ For further information about MVA please visit www.mva.co.uk or email at jmeal@mva.co.uk. ------------------------------------------------------------ Integrated Transport Smart card Organisation Limited (ITSO) ------------------------------------------------------------ Formed in the UK, ITSO’s mission is to manage and develop the technology specifications that make inter-operable, multimodal public transport a reality. ITSO has been formed to: provide the forum through which members can create and improve inter-operable smart card specifications; provide the public transport industry and its suppliers with a certification process that ensures conformity with the specification; manage security systems and keys to ensure that members can develop commercial applications and agreements; promote the use of the specification and maintain its fitness for purpose in international standards; and provide passengers with a recognised symbol to make inter-operable products easily useable by them. For further information about ITSO please visit www.itso.org.uk or email cathrynjeeves@centro.org.uk. ERG Group ------------------------------------------------------------ ERG Group is a world leader in the development and supply of integrated fare management and software systems for the transit industry, and technologically advanced smart card systems and services. In 1999/2000 Australian-based ERG's revenue totalled A$415.7 million. ERG has achieved a compound annual sales growth of 40 per cent for the past ten years and has established market leadership for its integrated multi-application smart card management technology. Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, ERG ranks in the Standard & Poors-Australian Stock Exchange Top 50 index. ------------------------------------------------------------ For further information about ERG Group please visit www.erggroup.com or contact Melissa Frost, General Manager Investor Relations on +61 8 9273 1879 or mfrost@erggroup.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prepayment Cards Limited (PCL) ------------------------------------------------------------ ERG, Sema Group UK Ltd, Stagecoach Holdings plc, FirstGroup plc and National Express Group PLC are equity holders in PCL which was established to provide smart card issuance, management and processing services to any organisation wishing to operate a smart card based system. PCL, through its subsidiary PCML, has an agreement with the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive to operate the Greater Manchester concessionary fare collection system. ------------------------------------------------------------ Additional information about PCL please can be obtained by emailing Mike Hill, Head of Business Development, at mike_hill@compuserve.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Post Office Counters Ltd (The Post Office) ------------------------------------------------------------ Consignia (formerly The Post Office Group) is one of the United Kingdom's leading businesses employing around 200,000 people and generating annual revenues in excess of £7.5 billion. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Post Office network has the largest and most respected over-the-counter payment service in the United Kingdom. It is also the largest retailer in the United Kingdom – its network of some 18,000 branches making it bigger than the major building societies and main banks combined. Twenty-eight million customers visit the Post Office every week, making around 45 million visits. Post Office branches handle around 500 million payment transactions every year worth £12 billion. Nine out of ten people live within a mile of a Post Office branch. ------------------------------------------------------------ Further information about The Post Office Counters is available at www.postoffice.co.uk or by emailing peter.timperley@postoffice.co.uk. ------------------------------------------------------------ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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