Scottish transport ticketing goes digital

UK: Unicard has migrated paper-based ZoneCard tickets valid on ScotRail, Glasgow Subway and bus services in the west of Scotland to its ITSO-compliant smart ticketing platform.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport awarded the contract with the aim of improving the passenger experience and reducing the complexity of managing paper tickets.

Users can purchase a ZoneCard ticket via a website, app or at a shop, and then tap-in when they travel.

The system complies with the ITSO standard, enabling ZoneCard tickets to be added to Transport Scotland’s National Entitlement Card which is also provided by Unicard.

‘A key benefit and differentiator of our platform is that it is token-agnostic, and therefore supports other technologies’, said Unicard CEO Sean Dickinson. ‘While ITSO may be the best solution for now, the platform is future-proofed. With these new capabilities SPT can accommodate other token types and services like QR codes, contactless bank cards, or account-based ticketing whenever they choose.’