LONDON — Two rail operators in the United Kingdom are testing a new fare system that will replace paper or digital tickets with a pay-as-you-go system based on Global Positioning System passenger tracking.
The UK government’s Department for Transport says up to 4,000 passengers can sign up to use the system, which launched on Monday (Sept. 1) on the East Midlands Railway between Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham, and will debut later this month on Northern Trains in Yorkshire.
Passengers will check in and out via a smartphone app, and which will track their trips and automatically charge passengers the end of the day. When tickets are usually needed, as for onboard inspections or to pass through ticket gates, the app will provide a bar code to be scanned.
“The railway ticketing system is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century,” UK Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said in a press release. “Through these trials, we’re doing just that and making buying tickets more convenient, more accessible and more flexible. By putting passenger experience at the heart of our decision making, we’re modernizing fares and ticketing and making it simpler and easier for people to choose rail.”
The system has previously been tested in Switzerland, Denmark, and Scotland.
“We’ve had a fantastic response from customers keen to take part,” said Oli Cox, head of commercial strategy and business planning at East Midlands Railway, “with more than 500 people registering their interest so far.
“We know that complex fares can be a real barrier to travel, but this trial removes that uncertainty, making it easy to simply tap in and out on your phone, safe in the knowledge you’re always getting the best-value fare on the day.”
The trials are made possible with nearly £1 million ($1.35 million) in government funding.
