Boost efforts to develop intermodal ticketing, say Transport MEPs

Transport services providers and providers of journey planners should build on existing synergies and cooperate more closely on providing multimodal, cross-border journey planners, European Commission transport MEPs said. They are calling on the Commission to take the measures necessary to support and facilitate the efforts being made on development of intermodal ticketing.
May 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

Transport services providers and providers of journey planners should build on existing synergies and cooperate more closely on providing multimodal, cross-border journey planners, European Commission transport MEPs said.  They are calling on the Commission to take the measures necessary to support and facilitate the efforts being made on development of intermodal ticketing.

Transport MEPs ask member states, by 2020 at the latest, to introduce national updated timetable and fares information systems ‘on the basis of open interfaces linking the travel data’ for regional and local urban public transport. By 2024 these should be linked on a cross-border basis and made accessible to operators, to providers of journey planners and to consumers.

All local public transport should be equipped with intelligent systems relaying real-time information about the position of the transport vehicle, MEPs add.

If no significant progress in creating integrated, interoperable multimodal, cross-border ticketing systems is made by 2020, they ask the Commission to take legislative action by introducing minimum rules, building on the progress already made and the voluntary initiatives already introduced.

“Up to now, it is too difficult and sometimes impossible to get tickets for a cross border travel - especially if someone wants to use different modes, for example a train and a bus,” said Dieter-Lebrecht Koch (EPP, DE). “In our modern and online times, we must be able to create a more integrated ticket. This would make the lives of travellers so much easier. It doesn't need to stay a dream, let's start working on this now," he added.

Transport MEPs repeated calls for a Charter of passenger rights covering all modes of transport to be presented by the Commission by the end of 2017. This charter should include a separate section on multimodal journeys with clear and transparent protection of passengers´ rights “in the multimodal context taking account of the specific characteristics of each transport mode, and integrated multimodal ticketing”, they added.

More attention should also be paid to the needs of people with disabilities or limited mobility as well as to the special requirements of elderly people in relation to access to travel information before and during journeys, MEPs stressed.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Bus Services Bill ‘to give greater accountability for customers’
    May 19, 2016
    According to Nathan Marsh, Smart Transport director at EY, a new Bus Services Bill included today’s Queen’s Speech could herald just the beginning of a journey to smarter travel and paves the way for cities and regions to reap the benefits of a London-style network. The speech also included a range of measures to modernise the UK’s economy, such as a Modern Transport Bill which included legislation to enable the development of commercial spaceports and new laws to make the UK ready to pioneer driverless
    Read More
  • FRA awards funding, status report stresses the need for positive train control
    August 18, 2016
    The US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded US$25 million in grants for 11 projects in six states and the District of Columbia to assist in implementing positive train control (PTC). Many awards will help railroads achieve interoperability among the different PTC systems that railroads are deploying. PTC prevents certain train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits and trains going to the wrong tracks be
    Read More
  • US transportation policy needs to restart to sort shortcomings
    August 2, 2012
    Joshua Schank has no illusions when it comes to what he and the Bipartisan Policy Center are suggesting in Performance Driven: New Vision for US Transportation Policy. Released in June of this year, this major report (see Sidebar, 'The Shift in Thinking') advocates no less than a root-and-branch overhaul of the way in which the US transportation system is run - how money is allocated and how the beneficiaries of that funding are selected. As its name suggests, Schank and his colleagues are urging senior US
    Read More
  • Georgia Yexley: Here's how micromobility can deliver public good
    June 27, 2023
    Georgia Yexley, founder of Loud Mobility, looks at the lessons on diversity, equity and inclusion which can be learned from the US and wider – and explores why it is a vital component for industry growth in the UK
    Read More

Highlighted Content