ITSO on Prestige (Oyster) ... a step closer

[whole diary]

[Brucey]

Southern Railway today sent an email out to customers of "the key" (their ITSO smartcard) stating that it can now be used at selected stations in the London Fare Zones, notably Clapham Junction which is not operated by Southern.

This looks like we'll be one step closer to having ITSO smartcards all the way into and around London.  And also an inter-compatible smartcard ticketing system between the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company).

Dear Customer
 
London calling: travel by key smartcard to the capital today
 
Here at Southern, we're excited to announce that you can now travel with the key on journeys to London.
 
It's a great moment for Southern as we're the first train company to enable our passengers to travel into London in simple one^touch transactions using our industry^leading key smartcard.
 
You can now purchase Weekly, Monthly and Annual Season tickets for journeys to London Victoria, London Bridge, Clapham Junction and East Croydon, from the majority of stations outside of London on the Southern network. Please note that some journeys are not yet available on the key for travel to London Victoria, London Bridge, Clapham Junction or East Croydon and will be introduced in Spring 2014 when all London Terminals will be included.
 
For full details on where you can travel using the key and to see a map of the Southern network, visit southernrailway.com/thekey

 
So here are 5 smart reasons to use your key for travel to London:
1.   Easier ^ simply buy your tickets online (or at a self service ticket machine) and just touch in at the station outside of London to collect your ticket ^ no waiting for tickets to arrive in the post and you can buy online to avoid queues at the station
2.   Quicker ^ you no longer need to wait for tickets to print at the last minute. And of course, touching in at the station with your key is faster than using a paper ticket
3.   Secure ^ your key smartcard is registered in your name and your purchases are protected if your key gets lost or is stolen
4.   Durable ^ your key smartcard will last for years to come and it won't fade or jam like some paper tickets. Great news for Season ticket holders
5.   Free ^ you won't pay a deposit for your key. It's completely free
 
Using your key to travel to London is easy:
^   Simply buy tickets for your key from your online account at southernrailway.com/thekey, or via self service ticket machines at Southern stations outside of London
^   That's it! You're all set to travel as you touch in to collect your "ticket" on your key with a one^touch transaction at the yellow reader in the station and away you go by train!
 
If you would like to get in contact with us with any thoughts, comments or questions please do so by emailing us at [email removed].

 
Many thanks,
 
The key team

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

The "Key" is Go-Ahead's own branding of its ITSO card that has been in use on Go-Ahead's Oxford Bus Company services for a number of years and I believe is used on Go-Ahead's London Midland rail services to some extent.

If the Southern version can be used out of Southern territory in London, can the other "Key" cards also be used across Go-Ahead services?

The supposed advantages of ITSO were that the cards could be used for multi-purposes and until that time comes, I think their attractions will be limited.

[bobm]

I have recently bought a "Key" Card as I occasionally use buses from Didcot Parkway to Oxford or Abingdon.

The one downside of it in my opinion is that you can only load products onto it - like day rover tickets or season tickets.  Unlike the card issued by Thamesdown Transport in Swindon or the Simply card in Reading you cannot use it as an electronic purse to pay for a one off journey.

[Brucey]

The whole idea of the ITSO standard is that the cards and services should be interchangeable (in theory).

But at the moment, just focussing oh Go-Ahead's "the key", you can't use one of Brighton & Hove Buses smartcards (also branded "the key") on Southern Railway.  The other way round, you can't load bus only products onto Southern's smartcard but you can load PlusBus in addition to a rail ticket which can be used on Go-Ahead's Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus .... but only those operating in Crawley and Redhill, not their red London buses.  Confused?  I certainly am writing this.

To add to the matter, London Midland's "the key" also doesn't work with Southern's system yet.  In addition, there is no break of journey without being manually let out of the station (but I have it on very good authority this is being implemented very soon).

Stagecoach have also got their "Stagecoach Smart" implementation.  But this isn't compatible with "the key" ... yet.  Again, I have it on very good authority (from the same manager) that this is being worked on to cover the Havant/Portsmouth to Southampton line.  Even East Midlands Trains "Stagecoach Smart" won't work with South West Trains, or even Stagecoach buses.  Which means I currently have three "Stagecoach Smarts", all with identical designs which are for use with different products.  At least Go-Ahead have put different designs on their cards....

And now there are even paper ITSO smartcards.  The new design of Glasgow Subway tickets are slightly thicker than normal rail tickets and contain a microprocessor and antenna.  These must have come down in price considerably as a single ticket only cost ^1.50.  I understand TfL^» (Transport for London - about) looked into paper Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards for visitors at one point.

Anyway, the point of this post (which probably sounds more like a rant) was basically to highlight the poor integration between different ITSO implementations.  These are only the ones I've used/attempted to use.  I now have seven plastic ITSO cards plus a few disposable paper cards.  I don't even know where I've put some of the plastic ones.   

[didcotdean]

Stagecoach have also got their "Stagecoach Smart" implementation.  But this isn't compatible with "the key" ... yet. 

These are interoperable on each operators' bus services in Oxfordshire to a degree but this required brokering through the auspices of the county council to achieve. The revenue is cleared on a daily basis.

[Brucey]

Southern are really making good progress with their smartcard.  Hopefully other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) will learn from them with regards to their own installations.

London Travelcard seasons can be loaded onto 'the key' which can be used in London just like an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card (i.e. on the buses, tube and DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway) as well as the trains).

A new offering called 'key go' is available to a limited number of users, which is a PAYG^▸ (Pay as you go) service.  Users top up their card and have the "best fare" deducted at the end of the day.  Break of journey is permitted and credit is interchangeable with Brighton & Hove buses.  I'm told it will also see if a Rail+Bus ticket would be the cheaper option.

[Electric train]

I think for Southern now it is being merged with the Thameslink to form one franchise they have little choice certainly within the London Fare Zone system

[SDS]

We also have the Iff card for Cardiff Bus. Which is an ITSO card but is used as an electronic purse. You top it up via the driver or offices and then deduct as and when used. It also caps at the equiv day price. However plusbus is slightly cheaper.

[John R]

Very good, an iff card in Card iff.   I like it.