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Date Posted: 19:20:32 02/19/03 Wed
Author: Part 2 of 2 20-02-2003 12:00AM
Subject:

SINGLE TICKET SYSTEM FOR SYDNEY

Part 2 of 2

THE HON CARL SCULLY MP
Minister for Transport
Minister for Roads

MEDIA RELEASE

SINGLE TICKET SYSTEM FOR SYDNEY

The Minister for Transport, Mr Carl Scully, today announced a
contract has been signed to develop a revolutionary single-ticket
system for public transport in greater metropolitan Sydney.

The Government has entered into a $320 million contact with
Integrated Transit Solutions (ITS) to design and build and operate
NSW's integrated smart card ticketing system.

The key phases of the project are:

* Comprehensive system design, development and testing starting now
and expected to finish by the second half of 2004.

* Phased implementations across the public transport network expected
from the second half of 2004.

* Expected to be fully operational by late 2006.

Mr Scully said integrated ticketing would be a significant
undertaking, involving both government and private transport
operators, providing benefits for public transport users.

"One-card integrated ticketing will make significant customer service
improvements by making it easier, quicker and safer to access all
forms of public transport.

"A key benefit of having just one ticket will be that instead of
queuing up to pay the fare, the preferred fare can be automatically
loaded on to your smart card when it is required.

"Additionally, the smart cards will be 'contactless', which means
they do not need to be swiped through a machine.

"Instead, they only need to pass near a validator in the entry/exit
area to ensure passengers can continue their journey with little
interruption.

"The smart card will not need to be removed from a wallet or bag
provided it is close to the validator. That means people won't have
to rummage for tickets or change, just walk through which is an added
time-saving and security benefit."

The one-ticket system will apply to all transport modes in the
Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra regions, reaching as far as Lithgow in
the west and Goulburn in the south west.

It will enable travel on rail, light rail, monorail and private and
public bus and ferry services.

"A single smart card will be an added incentive for people to leave
their cars at home and take public transport.

"As smart card technology is now being used for a variety of
purposes, it is even likely that in the future public transport
tickets will be used for a range of retail transactions as well as
e-tolling," Mr Scully said.

The Department of Transport NSW, in consultation with government and
private transport operators, will oversight the development and
implementation of the integrated ticketing system.

The $320 million contract is for 10 years from the start of system
operation and will give rights to ITS (a consortium led by Australian
technology company ERG) to operate and maintain the system over that
period.

The integrated ticketing system will relieve the State Rail Authority
and the State Transit Authority from having to upgrade their own
ticketing systems - a cost that is already factored into their
capital investment plans.

The new system will also be cheaper to operate than existing systems.

The Government's costs will be met from savings integrated ticketing
provides to government trains and buses, reduced fare evasion and
from a recurrent allocation through the Department of Transport
(DoT).

The recurrent allocation to the DoT for the next four years is $25.9
million. This is contained in the existing recurrent allocations to
the Department. Therefore it will have no impact on projected Budget
surpluses.

Contact: Tracey Annear on 9228 4455 or 0411 020 292

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