Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 10 December 2015, Official Report, column 1132, on smart ticketing, whether the £80 million funding referred to has been allocated to the South East Flexible Ticketing programme; and what proportion of that funding his Department has so far spent on which elements of that programme.

Claire Perry

Smart ticketing was taken forward by the Coalition Government after 2010. I can confirm that £80m was allocated to the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme. So far, £39.11m has been spent on the SEFT programme to develop a central back office for the entire rail industry to use and towards the costs to train operators of new infrastructure and upgrades.

We are working with the industry to find the best way to deliver smart ticket solutions that meet customers’ needs and take advantage of technological improvements, so ensuring that everyone is benefitting from 21st century ticketing.