Reading Borough Council (RBC) has appointed EPM Bus Solutions to administer and audit its new multi-operator ticketing scheme.
The “Reading All-Bus” ticket scheme was introduced on 13 March, following funding for RBC’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, and EPM will ensure all operators are fairly recompensed.
EPM will periodically allocate revenue to the operators and provide all parties with patronage data. In particular, the data will enable RBC to track the scheme’s performance and identify usage trends.
All-day tickets on local buses run by Reading Buses, Thames Valley Buses, Oxford Bus Company, Arriva and Thames Travel start from £3.40 and this will be available as a tap-on, tap-off later this summer.
John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport at Reading Borough Council, says: “We’re excited to be introducing the Reading All-Bus ticket to make travel simpler for the people of Reading. Keeping track of the scheme and ensuring operators are paid correctly, as well as complying with our own reporting requirements, can be a complex and time-intensive task.
“EPM has the dedicated resource and extensive skillset to seamlessly administer and audit the scheme. This will relieve some of the pressure off our transport team and gives us more time to focus on implementing our other bus improvement commitments.”
Jon Anton, Consulting Director at EPM, adds: “We’re delighted to be working with Reading Borough Council to administer their new multi-operator ticketing scheme. Our comprehensive knowledge of multi-operator ticketing schemes enables us to seamlessly implement processes and provide assurance to stakeholders that all bus operators participating are paid what they are owed.”
Reading Buses has previously used EPM to gain data insights via the EPM Insights platform.
