Skip to main content

Debut of Eastern Europe transport ticketing conference

The Transport Ticketing Central and Eastern Europe conference made its debut in Warsaw in October, welcoming 200 transport executives from across the region to discuss the ways to make paying and accessing public transport fast, efficient and flexible.
November 3, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

 The Transport Ticketing Central and Eastern Europe conference made its debut in Warsaw in October, welcoming 200 transport executives from across the region to discuss the ways to make paying and accessing public transport fast, efficient and flexible.

Supported by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development and 476 Arriva Poland, the event saw speakers lead a programme for an audience representing 27 different nations, including the Association of Train Operating Companies, 2001 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1690 European Commission, International Union of Railways (UIC), 1756 MasterCard Europe, Central European Initiative (CEI), as well as transport and telecommunications organisations from across the region.

Conference director, Zehra Chudry said “This event was a fantastic platform which hosted refreshingly honest and transparent debates about the obstacles operators are facing in implementing smart ticketing initiatives. The conversations onsite opened so many avenues for this region’s transport sector in terms of shared learning and working to build a collective approach to the challenges faced. I personally look forward to finding out how public transport networks evolve as a result of the discussions conducted throughout the conference.

“As a region, Central and Eastern Europe has caught the international public transport community’s attention because of its uncharacteristically fast adoption of new ticketing and payment technology. The Central and Eastern European transport landscape is typically characterised by minimal heavy infrastructure and a dependency on paper ticketing. This should present a ‘blank canvas’ for transport operators looking to introduce a new channel for fare collection but there are a number of barriers to implementation.

“The need for understanding around new technology integration and transport ticketing strategies has become vital. The conference session leaders not only provided critical insight and expertise but gave the audience the opportunity to share experiences and debate what solutions have to look like to suit their passengers, but also, what are we actually trying to achieve with ‘smart’ ticketing.”

The discussions will continue at Transport Ticketing Global 2015 in London on 27-29 January.

Related Content

  • Singapore aims for cashless public transport by 2020
    August 11, 2017
    Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and TransitLink are working towards a fully cashless vision for public transport by 2020, as part of their Smart Nation efforts. LTA and TransitLink are to launch a series of initiatives where commuters will no longer use cash to pay for rides or to top up stored-value cards. A key part of this is account-based ticketing, which LTA has been piloting with Mastercard since March 2017. This provides commuters with the convenience of tapping in and out with contactless
  • IBTTA 2010 meeting focuses on sustainability
    February 2, 2012
    Ken Philmus, chief meeting organiser, talks about what attendees can expect to see at this year's IBTTA annual meeting and exhibition
  • Green light for new approach to bus services in Liverpool
    December 4, 2015
    UK public transport operator Merseytravel is to enter into a formal ‘bus alliance’ initially with operators Arriva and Stagecoach, who together operate 90 per cent of commercial bus services in the Liverpool City region, focused on increasing the number of fare paying passengers, improving customer satisfaction and driving up investment for the benefit of all who use bus services. The ambitious growth target of a 10 per cent increase in passenger journeys, the equivalent of over nine million more journey
  • Early bird deadline is near for Asecap Days 2025
    March 21, 2025
    Check out event before 2 April to take advantage of reduced registration fee