Oyster-card plan for bus travel in region

Transport chiefs have been developing a smartcard for the region following a successful pilot for the scheme, which has the working title Yorcard.

Metro chairman Coun James Lewis said: “Developing smartcards for Yorkshire has been a highly complex long-term technical project for Metro and its partners but their introduction will mark a significant improvement for local passengers.

“By 2014, when they will have been introduced across the whole bus network, they will make using public transport hugely more convenient for passengers. Also with fewer people needing to pay cash for individual tickets, they will help to improve the punctuality of bus services by reducing boarding times.”

The technology is already being put into place for bus services in East and North Yorkshire and a trial is being launched in conjunction with Transdev’s Keighley and District bus services which will focus on the over-60s with a concessionary pass.

The news comes after a national audit revealed North Yorkshire County Council had been listed as one of the UK’s top 10 councils for modernising services with smart technology.

Boasting five “smart services”, residents in the county use smart cards as bus passes, to access leisure centres and as cashless catering, enabling pupils to buy school meals. Plans are also under way to introduce a smart system for parking and experiments with Radio Frequency ID tracking have been carried out in libraries.

Conducted among 100 city and county councils across the UK, the Ecebs Smart Audit revealed York has two smart services in place and a York Taxicard scheme is currently being mooted.