Keen to find out what innovations are on the horizon for 2025?
Adam Toone, Chief Commercial and Operations Officer, sat down alongside Jason Mann, Director of Product, to discuss the exciting developments on our roadmap.
Enhanced Communications with Ticketer’s New Voice Solution
Leveraging the next generation TK300’s Android operating system, speakers and microphone, Ticketer are developing a two-way voice call extension which will provide more nuanced communication between controllers and drivers whilst offering many advantages to traditional radio systems. Namely the reduction of costly on-bus hardware, expensive licenses, wider coverage and the ability for targeted and time-specific communications, improving both operational and cost efficiency.
As Adam explains, the new solution addresses many of the challenges faced by operators today: “There are three common scenarios. Some operators have radio technology that doesn’t meet their needs, others have legacy systems they haven’t upgraded due to cost, and some have never had radio systems because of financial, logistical or staffing constraints.”
“For us, innovation is about responding to customer feedback and the operational issues they face day-to-day. We’ve therefore leveraged the TK300 driver console to create a solution that’s cost-effective, easy to deploy given there’s no need for additional hardware and ensures improved and further-reaching communication.”
Jason adds: “Traditional radio systems are very expensive to maintain and are geographically limited. They might work well in urban areas but operators with wider networks struggle with coverage. As long as our solution is online then communication remains reliable, and this will only improve as 4G and 5G networks continue to be bolstered nationwide by the network providers.”
Further highlighting the functional advancements, Jason explains: “Traditional radio systems mean that radio broadcasts go to everyone, even if they’re only relevant for certain drivers. We’ve built upon the functionality of our existing text-based driver messaging solution so that controllers can send audio broadcasts to groups of drivers, specific services, particular depots or even individual vehicles, allowing targeted communication.”
Further building on the driver messaging framework, the Ticketer audio broadcast extension provides greater scope for defining when messages become active and expire, e.g. in the event of temporary roadworks, ensuring timely and relevant communication. Furthermore, drivers can replay broadcasts at any time, offering flexibility and helping ensure important updates aren’t missed.
“Drivers can listen to the broadcast without needing to interact with the console, ensuring safety,” Jason adds. “At the same time, drivers will have the ability to play back stored broadcasts when needed, thus all the benefits of our current text-based messaging are available for these audio broadcast messages.”
More pivotally, the new feature will enable two-way communication, allowing drivers to communicate with control room staff directly via the ETMs.
Jason elaborates: “Control room staff or drivers can initiate a call and have a direct person-to-person conversation, just as if they were using a mobile phone. Control room staff will be alerted to any incoming calls as they use the Ticketer Portal and the ability to call the driver will be just as easy as it is using our current driver messaging feature. All of this will be backed up with detailed reports of call usage to allow operators to audit and review how they use the functionality. Overall, we’re really excited about all the new capabilities this will offer our customers and the improvements we think this will make for the operation of their services.”
Passenger Manifests: A New Era for Pre-Booked Travel
Another major development in 2025 is the release of Passenger Manifests, a feature primarily designed for customers handling pre-booked tickets such as coach services, pre-booked home-to-school transport services and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) services.
“This functionality enables drivers to see how many passengers are expected to board at each stop, giving them clear visibility of current and expected occupancy of their vehicle,” Jason explains. “Scanning a QR code from their pre-booked tickets will automatically mark passengers as boarded, highlighting those who are yet to board from that stop.”
A key advantage of the Ticketer solution is its ability to support both pre-booked and walk-up passengers on a single device – a unique selling point in the industry. “Most systems either handle pre-booked manifests or walk-up ticketing, not both. By integrating them, we reduce the need for multiple devices in the cab and simplify the driver’s experience,” Jason adds.
The system will also feature two-way APIs for integration with third-party reservation and booking platforms, ensuring amended bookings can be updated at any time, including when trips are in-flight, ensuring all systems have accurate and up to data.
Harnessing the Power of Data
As ever, data will continue to play a pivotal role in helping Ticketer customers make better-informed decisions, optimise networks and improve the passenger experience.
Adam emphasises how data is shaping the future of transport management: “Keeping data at the forefront and thinking about how we can do more in that regard for the customer and passenger experience is critical for us,” Adam explains. “Data has become increasingly relied on for customers to better understand their passengers – where they board and alight, their preferred ticket types, what payment method do they use, travel patterns – all of which informs network planning, timetable optimisation, product offerings and more.”
One of Ticketer’s key data-driven advancements in 2025 will be the release of the Schedule Adherence (SA) dashboard within the Ticketer Insights Hub. “This will allow operators to better visualise scheduled versus actual performance, ensuring they have a clear understanding of how services are running and where improvements can be made – creating that much desired feedback loop,” Adam says.
Adam stresses the way data is presented is just as important as the data itself. “The challenge isn’t just aggregating the vast amounts of data now available to operators – it’s making it accessible, intuitive and actionable. If an operator has to click through 20 screens or export multiple reports just to find what they need, they will lose interest,” he adds.
The Ticketer Insights Hub has been designed with this philosophy in mind. “At various shows over the past year, we’ve showcased how our solution makes large datasets manageable and easy to navigate. If all the data was simply dumped into an Excel file, it would be overwhelming. Instead, we’ve built a format that enables users to open it, get straight to the information they need and take action,” Adam notes.
Another data-driven advancement will be the release of Enhanced Predictions, aimed at improving real-time bus arrival forecasts. Jason explains how the new solution uses machine learning to significantly improve upon traditional methods.
“As the use of transport apps has increased over the years, passengers expect the predicted arrival times to be accurate. Passengers don’t want to get to a bus stop when the app has told them when the bus will arrive, only to find it has been delayed by 15 minutes, or worse, it has already left.”
To address this, Ticketer has developed a machine learning prediction engine that analyses historical data, time of day, day of the week, as well as derived traffic data (data from other buses on the network for example) to generate more accurate journey times. In addition, the engine is designed to manage the potential impact from outliers (for example, if a bus breaks down, and never completes the trip leg) so they do not influence the model for future predictions.
“The system learns patterns over time, allowing us to predict stop departure times much more effectively,” Jason explains. “For example, if a route historically experiences congestion every Monday morning, our model will factor that into predictions rather than just assuming the delay remains the same over every weekday.”
As well as utilising historical data to inform the predictions, the new enhanced prediction engine enables estimation of the remaining running time on a stop-to-stop leg at any point. This means updates to the prediction are provided as the bus travels between the stops and, should it be unexpectedly held up between stops, predictions will be updated accordingly.
Measured against an industry recommended approach in reporting the quality of predictions, early tests have shown over 90% accuracy across all time ranges. “This is a big step forward for operators and passengers alike,” Jason adds. “More accurate predictions mean better real-time information for bus stop displays, passenger apps, websites and back-office systems.”
While the system was initially trained using data in a specific region, it is now preparing to be trained on a UK-wide model ahead of launch later this year. “We’re committed to ensuring all customers have the option to receive the most accurate, up-to-date functionality possible”, says Jason.
Adam concludes: “I am really excited for this and it’s just the beginning of how we plan to leverage machine learning to enhance the transport experience. As data capabilities and needs continuously evolve, Ticketer remains committed to ongoing enhancements. It’s about continuous improvement, ensuring that we keep delivering smarter ways for data to be harnessed to improve our customers’ operations.”
Further Fighting Fraud: Online Authorisations
Ticketer is also set to launch Online Authorisation (Online Auth) later this year, providing additional security and flexibility for payment processing.
Jason contextualises the shift: “Transit model EMV payments are made ‘offline’ which allows payments to be processed without real-time authorisation. This means operators can take payments even if there’s no immediate connection to a banking network, which is vital while there are still areas of limited, or no, network coverage in some parts of the UK.”
This offline model has many benefits, particularly in maintaining resilience against network outages as seen during last year’s CloudStrike outage that disrupted millions of global payment terminals. “Our machines continued to function because they operate offline, independent of back-office server infrastructure,” Jason explains.
However, the offline model can have limitations. “For transactions over a certain amount, such as for more expensive coach or airport transfer tickets, there’s no immediate authorisation which leaves operators at risk of unverified payments,” Jason says.
To address this, Online Authorisation will be launched to allow real-time verification of payments. The transit model will remain in place for the majority of EMV payments on bus, and this new model of payments will be available for specific use cases where operators see value in waiting for verification – such as high-value transactions on tour services, coach routes and airport transfers. “In these scenarios, where the tickets are more expensive and there’s less pressure to process payments instantly, Online Authorisation is a great tool for reducing fraud risk,” Jason adds.
The rollout will be configurable, allowing operators to tailor its use based on their needs. “This isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution,” Jason emphasises. “Many bus services still require the efficiency of offline payments. But for those offering higher-value journeys, Online Auth adds an extra layer of security and reassurance.”
Streamlining Change Management
Another key enhancement for 2025 will be around streamlining how multiple concurrent changes are managed, designed to make timetable and fare changes more efficient. Jason Mann explains, “Operators have had to juggle timetable and fare updates simultaneously, which can create dependencies and complexity. Our new approach will provide a more streamlined and flexible way to manage these changes.”
This improvement is particularly timely given the frequent fare cap adjustments seen in recent years, such as the shift from a £2 cap to a £3 cap, which required intricate fare recalculations. “Some fares needed to be adjusted individually rather than applying a blanket rule, which created a more complex workflow for operators,” Jason says.
We will be implementing a series of changes that will simplify this process, making it easier for operators to implement changes quickly and accurately. “Everyone we’ve spoken to is looking forward to this – it will make their jobs much easier,” Jason adds. “It’s not a flashy new feature, but it’s a critical operational enhancement that will benefit operators of all sizes.”
A Year of Transformation
With the innovations mentioned above plus a host of other planned releases and enhancements, Ticketer customers are set for a year of new functionality aimed at driving operational efficiencies and enhancing the passenger experience.
Stay tuned as we they’re rolled out and as always, Ticketer will continue listening to the industry and evolving our solutions to meet its ever-changing needs.
If you’ve got any questions on the topics mentioned above, please reach out to your Customer Success Director if you’re a Ticketer customer or email us at info@ticketer.co.uk.