Transport Card Forum scores highest ever attendance in Bath

HAVERHILL, U.K. - Oct. 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Chaired by the DfT, supported by FirstGroup and sponsored by a wide selection of leading technology suppliers, the 2013 event was hailed a great success by all involved. Speakers came from a variety of backgrounds and projects including Transport Scotland, Passenger Focus, FirstGroup, National Express, Southern Railway, SWSAL and many more. The event, focusing on seamless travel and improving the travelling public’s experience, included summaries of the current status of smart schemes in the UK, the potential future roles for ITSO, EMV contactless, SEFT, mobile technology, new services, RTI and other initiatives.

The two-day conference and exhibition is the fourth in a successful series of annual events organised by Smartex in key smart cities across the country.  This year’s record exhibitor presence included Parkeon, ACT, Cubic Transportation Systems, Verifone, Vix, Ecebs, GIS, The Hub, ESP Systex, Essentra (formerly Payne) Security, Access-IS, OSPT Alliance, Oberthur Technologies, NXP, Payzone, Smartran, Confidex and TransaXiom.

Stuart Mclay, Retail Channel Manager for First Great Western commented: “We supported this event with the sole aim of working with our transport partners to share best practice, ensure we continue to put our customers first and help communities to prosper. We were extremely pleased with the level of attendance, and the commitment from transport operators and suppliers  to work more closely  with one another to create a better customer experience.”

Nigel Cullum, Commercial Director of exhibiting company ACT commented:“ACT identified this as a pivotal event to launch some of our new ground breaking services to the Transport Sector. I do not recall a TCF that had such a comprehensive spread of high level executive delegates from Government, PTA, Local Authority and of course Commercial Bus and Train operators in attendance over both days.  We sincerely hope that you continue to arrange these types of events in the future.”

Richard Poynder, principal of Smartex (which operates the Transport Card Forum) added: “We were overwhelmed with the response we have had from the industry to this year’s event. By bringing together key transport operators, their suppliers and other stakeholders for this annual meeting, we have materially advanced the important debate concerning where we are and where we are going with smart ticketing and payments. The UK is a pivotal phase between fragmentation and cohesion.  We must now move from islands of interoperability into a single, national infrastructure, within which the travelling public can benefit from simpler fare structures and from standardised and seamless smart travel tokens – where cards will very soon be superseded by NFC-enabled mobiles as the form factor for the future.”

Details of TCF 2014 will be released online at http://www.transportcardforum.co.uk/ shortly.

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Notes to editor

For all press enquiries, copies of images or to schedule an interview with any of our speakers please contact Humaira Pilkinton at humaira@smartex.com or on 01440 712610.

About the Transport Card Forum (TCF)

The Transport Card Forum (TCF) is a membership organisation open to all who are involved professionally with transport applications of smart cards and other smart customer media within the UK.  Membership is by annual subscription and plenary sessions are held 4 times per year.

Since 1997, the TCF has followed all of the main UK transport initiatives and has provided its members with in-depth knowledge of breaking technologies and schemes as they happen.  Average meeting attendance exceeds 50 members and guests, including existing and potential scheme operators, financial institutions and related government and local authority representation, and the entire supply chain.  TCF Working Groups consider topical issues and report recommendations to the DfT and the wider membership.

Current hot topics being debated at meetings include the impact of EMV contactless-enabled cards on public transport payments, the expected use of NFC mobiles for a range of travel-related functions and consideration of multi-modal, seamless travel using a single smart token.

Further information can be found at: http://www.transportcardforum.co.uk/

About Smartex

For over 20 years, Smartex has been successfully building the world's largest network of professional associations for smart card technology and all of its associated and successor forms such as RFID tags and NFC mobiles, and for the major applications and sectors for which this technology has become so important.

Members in three continents meet regularly to learn of new technologies, products and schemes, and to network in a non-sales environment, all supported by Smartex’s famous meeting style and hospitality.

Members are given instant access to information, expertise and business opportunities in this fast-moving and rapidly expanding space.

Further information can be found at www.smartex.com

About FirstGroup and First Great Western

First Great Western provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services, carrying more than 90 million passengers every year across the Greater Western rail franchise area, which includes South Wales, the Westcountry, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.