Skip to main content

Translink launches ticketing system for Glider bus network

Translink has unveiled its future ticketing system at the launch of the Glider bus rapid transit network in Belfast. The technology will allow riders with more flexible options to pay for journeys, the company says. Riders will be able to pay with cash, smartcard and contactless payment cards, mobile payments, online accounts and Translink smart cards. Flowbird developed the system and a back-office architecture called CloudFare. It is intended to allow administrators to monitor and control ticketing
September 19, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

376 Translink has unveiled its future ticketing system at the launch of the Glider bus rapid transit network in Belfast. The technology will allow riders with more flexible options to pay for journeys, the company says. 

Riders will be able to pay with cash, smartcard and contactless payment cards, mobile payments, online accounts and Translink smart cards. 

Flowbird developed the system and a back-office architecture called CloudFare. It is intended to allow administrators to monitor and control ticketing devices directly, view route performance statistics in real-time, set automatic system alerts, manage passenger accounts and run management reports. 

Additionally, Flowbird has installed 114 self-service retail units at halts along the network, supplied 230 platform validators and provided 45 handheld inspection devices. Passengers can buy tickets, top-up smartcards, collect tickets purchased online and validate journeys before boarding. 

Next year, the ticketing system will be introduced on all Translink Metro and Ulsterbus services, followed by NI Railways in 2020. Riders will also be provided with a customer smartcard portal and online top-ups in 2021. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Uber takes to the water in London
    August 3, 2020
    Ride-hailing giant will use River Thames as new route
  • Tags or communication based toll payment systems?
    January 20, 2012
    Midland Expressway Ltd's Tom Fanning discusses deployment of Near Field Communicationbased payment on the M6 Toll facility The M6 Toll's introduction from early next year of Near Field Communication (NFC) is a pragmatic response to the relative scarcity of tolled facilities and the concomitant low levels of tag take-up in the UK, according to the road's operator, Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL). Nevertheless, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)-based tags operating at 5.8GHz are still a key part of the
  • NFC travel tickets set for rapid growth
    March 13, 2012
    A new report from Juniper Research has found that 13 per cent of North American and Western European mobile users will use their NFC-enabled mobile phone as a metro rail or bus ticket by 2016, compared with less than one per cent today.
  • LAMetro and Via launch ride-sharing service at three metro stations
    February 8, 2019
    The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMetro) has partnered with Via to offer a ride-sharing service to and from three metro stations. The one-year pilot, supported by a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration, is being trialled at Artesia, El Monte and North Hollywood. Daniel Ramot, CEO and co-founder of Via, says the company’s passenger matching and vehicle routing algorithm will connect customers with the three transit hubs in their communities. Rid