Rosso Buses, operating local bus services in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, is bringing forward the implementation of new electronic ticket machines (ETMs) supplied by Ticketer. Originally planned for August, Ticketer is now supplying the machines for Rosso’s 108 buses ready to go live in May, only three months from contract award.
Ticketer won the contract to supply the very latest ticketing system following a rigorous tender process. Brian Juffs, Managing Director for Rosso, says that Ticketer was the obvious, and unanimous, choice: “The Ticketer team demonstrated their fundamental understanding of the needs of bus companies in the 21st century, in particular issues relating to fare collection and the importance of detailed management information.”
Rosso set out to upgrade their existing systems, maintaining all the functionality but adding real-time information and vehicle tracking built in as part of the complete package. Rosso plans to utilise the new ETM system in a variety of ways, including real time passenger information (RTPI) in various formats, automatically updated on-board destination displays, on-line ticket purchases and top-ups, and increased smartcard functionality. “We believe that Ticketer is able to offer RTPI and schedules adherence more cost-effectively than other providers” says Brian Juffs.
The Ticketer system for Rosso includes historical tracking and schedule adherence functionality (alerting drivers if they attempt to depart a timing point early), is ITSO certified, requires no depot infrastructure and generates comprehensive reports for detailed analysis.
During the competitive tender process, Rosso contacted several leading bus operators about their experience of using Ticketer. Brian Juffs explains: “There was an overwhelming endorsement of Ticketer and several local authorities have since applauded our decision to go with the Ticketer system.”
Brian Juffs also praised the Ticketer offering as being the simplest and most transparent that they received, which made it very easy to compare to others. He also believes that it has the best chance of lowest cost of ownership over eight years, due to the Ticketer business model and understanding of potential future changes and demands. He explains: “We intensely disliked the ‘consultancy charge’ approach from some of the other players in the market which lead us to suspect further charges regarding system changes would be incurred over eight years if we procured their system.”
John Clarfelt, Managing Director of Ticketer, comments: “This has been a significant win for us. We are relatively new to the market, and not well known to Rosso at the outset of the process, but we were able to demonstrate to Rosso that we understand their business and that our product offers functionality both now and in the future, flexibility and fixed-cost budgeting.”
Rosso, the new name for Rossendale Transport, has launched a new livery for its fleet of buses and is introducing newer, more environmentally-friendly vehicles to its fleet.
For further information please contact:
Mercedes Llewellyn
mercedes.llewellyn@ticketer.co.uk