The history
Travellers and businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber region will benefit from a ten year programme of transport improvements to tackle congestion, improve safety and invest in public transport, the Government announced today when it responded to regional advice about the transport priorities for the region.
In July 2006 the Government asked the Regional Assembly, the Regional Development Agency and other partners for its advice on transport priorities for the £927 million it has provisionally allocated for transport investment in the region up to 2015/16.
The Government's response broadly accepts the region's advice and means that the Government plans to fund 31 transport schemes in Yorkshire and the Humber over this period.
The aims of the pilot scheme
The programme includes:
- Yorcard smartcard pilot, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (gross cost £8.6 million, Department for Transport contribution £4 million).
The projects aims are that smartcards on bus and rail journeys will be enjoyed by travellers on selected routes in South Yorkshire from Spring 2008.
This scheme will pilot the use of smartcards on bus and rail journeys in South Yorkshire. The smartcard system will operate along three key bus routes in Sheffield and on rail journeys between Sheffield and Doncaster.
The pilot will provide valuable information on the potential of smartcard systems to:
- increase the attractiveness of public transport
- speed up journey times
- reduce fraud
- improve administrative efficiency.
Yorcard offers the first opportunity to see smartcards on deregulated bus and rail services for commercial ‘pay as you go’ style products and concessionary tickets. To date smartcard schemes have mainly been only on bus networks and typically concentrate on concessionary travel.
First phase of pilot - ZeroFare pass
THe first phase of Yorcard testing has taken place at Notre Dame School in Sheffield. ZeroFare pass holders were given new Yorcard passes to test.
To find out more visit the Yorcard website.