Integrated ticketing allows a person to make a journey that involves transfers within or between different transport modes with a single ticket that is valid for the complete journey,[1] modes being buses, trains, subways, ferries, etc. The purpose of integrated ticketing is to encourage people to use public transport by simplifying switching between transport modes and by increasing the efficiency of the services.
In most cases, integrated ticketing is made possible by electronic ticketing technologies such as magnetic stripe cards or smart cards. Some smart card systems are also used for paying for goods and other services such as the Octopus card.[2] Some public transport systems also use paper cash tickets that allow transfers within a specified area, and in some cases (such as the Transperth FamilyRider), allow unlimited travel during specified times.
Countries such as Switzerland have national integrated ticket systems, which not only extend across transport modes but can encompass entry into museums or leisure destinations.[3] The UK, Australia and Sweden use such systems on public transport in major cities or metropolitan areas.
Deploying integrated ticketing requires a high-level of coordination and co-operation between all public transport providers and the suppliers. Political, technological and project management issues have resulted in long delays in some cases. In Sydney the project has had to be restarted.[4] In Dublin, the system has also suffered serious delays from the project start date in 2002 but the TFI Leap Card system launched on 12 December 2011.[5] In Stockholm, the task of replacing the existing magnetic stripe cards system with smart cards is finally nearing completion after the project was started in 2002.[6]
Examples of integrated ticketing around the world:
| Area | Transport Authority | System Name | Ticket Type | Operational Since | Transport Types | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Adelaide Metro | MetroCARD | Smart card | November 2012 | Buses, trains & trams | |
| Auckland | Auckland Transport | AT HOP card | Smart card | 27 October 2012 | Buses, ferries & trains | |
| Snapper card | Smart card | 2011[7] | Buses (NZ Bus-operated services only) | To be phased out from April 2013 | ||
| Canberra | Transport Canberra | MyWay | Smart card | February 2011 | Buses, light rail | |
| Jakarta | PT Jakarta Lingko Indonesia | Jak Lingko | Smart card | December 2017 | Commuter rail, LRT, MRT, BRT, Angkot | |
| Kuala Lumpur | Land Public Transport Commission | Touch 'n Go | Smart card | 1997 | Commuter rail, LRT, MRT, Monorail, BRT, Buses, Parking, Toll fare | |
| Melbourne | Public Transport Victoria | myki | Smart card | 2009 | Buses, trains, trams & restricted regional rail services | Replaced the Metcard system in the Melbourne metro area in 2012 |
| Perth | Transperth[8] | SmartRider | Smart card | January 2007 | Buses, ferries & trains | Replaced the MultiRider magnetic stripe card system. Paper tickets are also available. SmartRider is also available for use in Bunbury, Busselton, Geraldton & Kalgoorlie[9] |
| Singapore | Land Transport Authority | EZ-Link | Smart card | 2001 | MRT (subway), bus, parking | CEPAS-compliant EZ-Link cards have replaced original EZ-Link cards in 2009 |
| South East Queensland | Translink[10] | go card | Smart card | January 2008[11] | Buses, ferries, trams & trains | |
| Sydney | Transport for NSW | Opal card | Smart card | December 2012 | Buses, ferries, light rail, trains | |
| Area | Transport Authority | System Name | Ticket Type | Operational Since | Transport Types | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Trans Link Systems[12] | OV-chipkaart[13] | Smart card | 2002 | All public transport on the Dutch mainland (trains, metros, trams, buses, ferries, ships, etc.).[14] | The OV-chipkaart was launched in 2002[15] but only fully replaced the national strippenkaart of the 1980s for buses, trams, and metro trains in 2011,[16] and the paper ticket system for rail travel in July 2014.[17] In 2022, a new system has been gradually rolled out called OVpay, which allows travellers to also use their bank cards, smartphones and smartwatches in addition to the already existing smart card to use the public transportation system.[18] | |
| Greater Dublin Area | TFI Leap Card[19] | Smart card | 2011 | Buses, trains, LUAS and the future Metro[20] |
| ||
| Greater London | TfL[21] | Oyster card | Smart card | July 2003 | Bus, tube, trams, DLR, London Overground & most National Rail services | ||
| Travelcard | Paper ticket, or loaded into an Oyster card | ||||||
| Greater Stockholm | SL[22] | Unknown | Magnetic stripe card | Unknown | Buses, Metro, rail, tram, ferries | Will be replaced by the SL Access smart card system. | |
| Lombardy (Italian region) | Regione Lombardia | Io Viaggio Ovunque[23] | Paper ticket / Magnet-Electronic paper ticket (SBME) / Smart Card (Io Viaggio) | 2011 | for travel on the entire local public transport network in the region of Lombardy: urban, suburban and intercity buses, trams, subways/metro, regional trains,[24] boats (on Lake Iseo only), and more | 1 to 7 days tickets can be purchased by anyone;[25] monthly and more long[26] have different features, and require subscription that provides / enable personal smart card. | |
| Northern Ireland | Translink[27] | Smartlink | Smart card | October 2009 | Bus In Belfast, Bus In Derry, Regional & Intercity Bus, Railways services | ||
| Paris | RATP/SNCF | Navigo pass, Mobilis/Jeunes one-day tickets | Smart card / magnetic ticket | 2006 | Subway, commuter rail (RER and Transilien), tramway, bus | Replaced the Carte Orange magnetic ticket system, One-day tickets are still magnetic | |
| Switzerland | Swiss Federal Railways[28] | Swiss Pass | Magnetic stripe card | 1989[29] | Buses, trains, ships and tramways | ||
| Subotica | Subotica-Trans[30] | SuBus | Smart card | 2012 | Buses | ||
1 to 7 days tickets allows use of 1st and 2nd class (The 1st class is present on almost all of "RV" and "RE" trains, very rarely on "R" trains, never on "S" trains; 1st class is also present in the "MXP" trains, but remind that with "Io Viaggio 1-7 days" tickets "MXP" trains are accessible only for journeys that not start or end at Malpensa Airport Station. Note that trains can however display in their onboard indications 1st and 2nd class zones, but this not matter if the trains are programmed for "2nd class only" by the paper form timetable in force). Monthly and more long subscription allows use of 2nd class only.