This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish household survey on travel
18/05/2004
New technology to be introduced will allow passengers to use a single ticket for ScotRail and Glasgow Subway services.
The Executive has awarded £122,000 to Strathclyde Passenger Transport to allow integrated ticketing between ScotRail and the Glasgow Subway. The new technology should be in place by the autumn.
Benefits for travellers will include quicker and easier passage through ticket gates and ticket offices and a single payment for more than one journey.
In future, the technology could allow customers to buy one ticket from any rail station in the UK, inclusive of travel on the Glasgow Subway. This means that a journey from London King's Cross to Hillhead in Glasgow's West End could be on a single, integrated ticket.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen announced said:
"This new technology will allow more people travelling in the West of Scotland to benefit from joined up journeys using one ticket.
"Currently around 6 per cent of SPT rail journeys involve the Glasgow Subway, so potentially almost 2.5 million journeys could benefit each year from this upgrade.
"Scotland needs more joined-up public transport initiatives like this to reduce congestion on our roads, grow our economy and make travel easier for passengers. Our funding to SPT demonstrates our commitment to delivering integrated ticketing for travellers and making public transport quicker and easier to use."
SPT has been awarded £122,000 from the Integrated Transport Fund to deliver integrated ticketing between ScotRail and the Glasgow Subway. The funding will mainly be invested in compute software.
When the technology has been upgraded passengers will be able to purchase tickets at railway stations inclusive of Glasgow Subway travel. These tickets would be recognised and accepted by the Subway gates. Around 70 per cent of ZoneCard ticket users buy their ticket at ScotRail stations and they will no longer have to have their ticket validated for the Glasgow Subway. The ZoneCard will work with both the Queen Street ticket gates and the Glasgow Subway ticker gates.
By the end of 2006, Scottish Executive spending on transport will reach £1 billion per year, of which 70 per cent will be targeted on public transport.