A recent roundtable, held in partnership with Unicard on 3 November, brought together government, combined and local authorities, operators, suppliers, consultants and major technology firms to discuss a deceptively simple challenge: how to enable seamless, multimodal travel across the UK without requiring passengers to navigate multiple complex ticketing systems.

The session asked attendees three core questions:

• What does the changing landscape mean for the sector? Considering the impact of bus franchising, the creation of Great British Railways, and the devolution of transport powers to combined authorities.
• How can the sector deliver smart ticketing? And what does the shifting commercial environment—moving from single to modular supply chains and from closed- to open-loop systems—mean for suppliers?
• Why are we doing this, and what are we hoping to achieve? How can integration between modes, regions and schemes improve the passenger experience, ensure revenue protection and increase public transport uptake?

In attendance were mayoral and combined authorities at different stages of bus reform, councils implementing enhanced partnerships or exploring franchising, central government teams working on rail reform and smart ticketing, operators across bus and rail, and suppliers spanning smartcard, EMV, barcode, mobile ticketing and account-based solutions.

The Changing Landscape

The roundtable first heard from the public sector, covering different regions across the UK. Despite varied regional contexts, several consistent themes emerged.

First, many shared a unified network vision. One attendee highlighted the aim for “one ticket, one timetable,” incorporating new rail services, demand responsive transport, a micromobility programme and a spatial strategy that brought together transport, housing and jobs.

With the creation of more Mayoral Combined Authorities, the new Devolution Bill and the recently passed Bus Act, attendees were clear that local regions now have more power than ever before to implement integrated ticketing schemes. Many highlighted that political leadership had been lacking in previous years – a situation that could now change with the mandate that Mayors hold, particularly over bus services.

Nationally, initiatives such as Project Coral – a collaboration between major bus operators and Transport for West Midlands to enable multi-operator contactless smart ticketing – were highlighted as effective ways smaller local authorities could be supported, given the complexity and resources required to implement smart ticketing schemes.

Great British Railways, the new governing body for both track and train in the rail sector, was also highlighted as a major opportunity. It was noted that the Government is not waiting for the body to be formally established before progressing ticketing reform, with a dedicated Fares, Ticketing and Retail Programme already in place, as well as running initiatives like trials with digital pay as you go and ITSO on mobile.

The work of the Smart Transport Advisory Group and ongoing industry efforts to create standards – particularly for barcode ticketing – were also discussed.

How Can We Deliver Smart, Integrated Ticketing?

The Challenges…

It was clear, however, that challenges remain. First is the tension between giving local authorities flexibility to tailor schemes to their region, while ensuring simplicity and consistency for passengers at a national level. It was also noted that for rail, a national approach will need to be balanced with supporting regional priorities.

There is also significant complexity across the smart ticketing ecosystem. The industry includes magstripe, ITSO, EMV, barcodes, mobile wallets, ABT and other technologies. The group emphasised the need to consolidate around fewer, interoperable solutions, backed by stronger and clearer standards and the planned retirement of ageing systems.

Some of this complexity stems from commercial and governance arrangements: who owns a scheme, how revenue is allocated and how cross-boundary travel is handled. It was highlighted that previous large-scale programmes struggled less with technology and more with governance and risk allocation.

…and the Opportunities

Despite these challenges, attendees agreed that there is significant opportunity in the market. Several noted that there has never been more political will behind integrated transport—whether from newly elected Mayors or from the Government, which is due to publish its Integrated National Transport Strategy soon.

More agile approaches—such as the trial-first procurement used in digital PAYG rail pilots—were highlighted as helping authorities build evidence and gain confidence before committing to full rollout, while strengthening market capability.

It was also clear that the sector is evolving, with suppliers increasingly recognising the need for collaboration to ensure interoperability. There was strong support for greater cooperation to create uniform standards and avoid locking local authorities into proprietary products.

And the Why: The Public Benefit

Ultimately, discussions reinforced that getting smart ticketing right is essential for passengers. Travellers expect simple, intuitive journeys and the ability to turn up, tap and travel, with confidence that they are paying a fair price.

Smart ticketing is also crucial in tackling transport poverty and rural isolation. Integrated, affordable and reliable public transport supports economic growth—particularly in areas that may not have seen the progress they hoped for in recent years.

In conclusion, attendees agreed that the sector now needs to be bolder in its vision and accelerate deployment of schemes that will deliver meaningful benefits for the travelling public.

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ITS UK would like to thank Unicard for supporting this event