Ticketer has been small but critical cog in a complex change process, and is ready to help others

 
Jason Mann, Ticketer director of product, and Tom Wilsher, Ticketer head of product management, overseeing the tranche one rollout

Establishing a successful bus franchising solution involves multiple components, but the cornerstone of its success undoubtedly lies in developing close working partnerships and a robust technological foundation. This foundation must facilitate close collaboration between the local authority and its participating operators and drivers, whilst enabling seamless passenger journeys. Enter Ticketer.

A trusted partner to the UK bus and coach industry since 2009, Ticketer’s longstanding expertise and innovative spirit were invaluable in delivering the Bee Network’s franchising framework across multiple operating companies. Passenger Transport discusses with Kelly Hanna, Ticketer CEO, and Jason Mann, director of product, their critical contribution to creating the franchising solution blueprint for other regions.

An agile approach for complex change

Originally starting in 2018, Ticketer’s relationship with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has been a journey of continuous innovation and collaboration.

“Our journey with TfGM began five years prior to Bee Network rollout,” says Mann. “We were their ticketing solution partner for their smaller operators and supplied the ticketing technology in their travel shops. We continually enhanced our solution to meet TfGM’s specific needs, but innovating with them really started when we won their integrated ticketing and AVL solution contract.”

By working closely with TfGM from the start of their franchising journey, Ticketer could ensure their offering was not only technically robust but also aligned with its users’ specialised needs.

Hanna explains: “We worked collaboratively from the start. TfGM identified many changes to the solution for how they wanted to define and manage their services and operators, which wasn’t a problem because ultimately, we wanted the solution to work for them. We facilitated conversations and made adjustments along the way to deliver the outcome they needed.”

Further showcasing their agile approach, Ticketer had to accelerate its efforts when deployment was brought forward to September 1, 2023 for TfGM’s school services.

Following school rollout, tranche one of the Bee Network officially went live on September 24, 2023 and included the first full deployment of Ticketer’s latest ETM, the Ticketer Next Generation ETM, Smart Gateways and the management framework for franchised services – the franchising extension of the Ticketer solution.

The extended Ticketer solution

When considering the needs of TfGM, their participating operators and the complexities of implementing franchising, Ticketer took a pragmatic approach to innovation; rather than reinvent the wheel, they chose to build upon their existing trusted infrastructure.

Ticketer developed a franchising extension to their existing Ticketer solution, introducing a hierarchical structure with new roles, views and functionalities which would provide a control centre for TfGM and an intuitive interface for existing Ticketer users.

For existing Ticketer operators, it is largely business as usual

Mann explains: “We introduced “Franchise Owner” and “Franchise Operator” roles, so TfGM as the Franchise Owner can maintain a holistic view of everything happening on their network and take a controlling role in activities such as defining services, tickets and fares. That information then automatically flows downstream into individual Franchise Operator portals, each of which essentially offers an isolated view of the services the different operators are responsible for.”

“For existing Ticketer operators, it is largely business as usual with a few subtle differences. For example, operators are still expected to define their own drivers and vehicles but not services or tickets because this responsibility now sits with the Franchise Owner. In all other ways, we kept it as familiar as possible to help the transition.”

He continues: “I think there was a degree of comfort for the operators and drivers that there wasn’t a new system to learn and worry about. Minimising change by avoiding a new system was a big design consideration for the franchise extension.”

Stagecoach was the only participating operator not an existing Ticketer customer. Mann explains their diligent onboarding approach: “We visited Manchester and trained their back-office colleagues through the solution and their drivers on the Next Generation ETMs. We pride ourselves on our system being easy to learn and use and they did both very quickly.”

Continual innovation

Following tranche one deployment, Ticketer has delivered numerous features and enhancements to optimise the Bee Network’s services and enhance the passenger experience.

A recent key enhancement is support for “Headway Management” and the measurement and management of “Excess Waiting Time (EWT)” for frequently operated services. This allows TfGM to monitor and manage bus arrivals, helping to spread out arrival times and reduce bottlenecks. Another new feature is “Corridor Management”, enabling TfGM to monitor multiple bus services following the same sequence of stops in a single, consolidated view. “Corridor Management lets TfGM flexibly define a corridor – specific stops served by different services or operators – and manage those trips within a single view,” explains Mann. “This removes the need to toggle between different operator views of the same stretch of road, making it easier to ensure operational efficiency.”

Central to managing the franchise operation, Ticketer also provided TfGM with tailored reporting tools, new operational metrics and a customised version of the Ticketer Insights Hub, giving them greater visibility and insights on overall service and network performance.

Outside of the control and management platform, the first deployment of Ticketer’s new Revenue Inspection Devices (RIDs) went live in 2024 on TfGM’s tram network. “TfGM and Metrolink are really pleased with how the RIDs work and the data they provide,” Mann shares. “The inspectors are using them to ensure everyone using a contactless card has been charged accordingly, helping minimise revenue loss. TfGM will be expanding the use of RIDs to include QR codes and ITSO cards on trams and on-bus shortly after tranche three goes live.”

As ever with Ticketer, features within the franchising solution were designed with a broader vision in mind. New functionality within the franchising extension can be used by any customer who may benefit from their enablement, including those not in a franchise.

Teamwork in tech
Reflecting on the journey to final tranche three deployment, for Hanna, Ticketer’s true strength lies in the powerful combination of its solutions and the partnership they offer.

“The real value lies in our teamwork as well as our solutions and their ability to simplify franchising’s complexity. From day one we worked as a united team with TfGM and were on hand wherever we could be. If you think about the scale of setting up franchising, Ticketer was a small but critical cog in a very complex change process. Alongside technology deployment there are buses to acquire, depot leasing to arrange, EV charging stations, branding to rollout; it’s a mammoth list that goes on. Anything we could therefore do to help TfGM on this journey, we did.”

Beyond the Bee Network
Other regions closely watching the Bee Network for learnings can benefit from Ticketer’s consultative approach. Hanna says the company is on hand to demystify franchising and share insights gained from their partnership with TfGM.

“It’s unchartered territory for future franchising areas so we’re here to guide, share lessons learned and tailor insights from Manchester to others’ needs. No two regions will have the same requirements, but we’ve developed a tried-and-tested solution that we can adapt accordingly and know what it takes to make rollout successful.”

For those moving to franchising, Hanna reassures: “We’re here to help on all aspects. I’m just an email or call away, as are my team.”

Further highlighting Ticketer’s open-door policy, Hanna explains Ticketer are hosting authority-specific events in future; providing a forum to discuss and overcome the complexities of franchising, enhanced partnerships or any other model.

Minimising change by avoiding a new system was a big design consideration for the franchise extension

Ultimately, for authorities and operators the message is clear: with the right partners and technology, implementing franchising can be more than just feasible. As ever, Ticketer is ready to support the industry, lending expertise plus driving innovation and collaboration to shape the future of public transport.

To understand more about Ticketer’s franchise solution as an operator or a local authority, email info@ticketer.co.uk.

 
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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