When you think of Ticketer, you will undoubtedly think of tickets; it’s in its name. But it’s much more than just a ticket machine
Where is the industry heading in terms of ticketing? Contactless is booming and cashless options are becoming more and more popular with passengers. So with a recent rebrand complete, there are many ways Ticketer can help operators.
We meet with John Clarfelt, CEO of Ticketer to find out exactly what the company is and what it offers.
Immediately there is a family sense to the business with a strong drive and focus to really help build, improve and enhance the technology available in the industry.
Ticketer is born
John saw room for improvement with the ticketing machines that existed over a decade ago and describes them as being “complex”.
He says: “It was clear to us that offering a solution that had no legacy, and therefore could utilise the latest cloud based options, would make it simpler for operators.
“We felt strongly that our Electronic Ticket Machines (ETMs) could become a tool to effect a change in ticketing, offering flexibility and functionality that could contribute to an operator in a positive way.”
Going up
Ticketer is now the UK’s largest ETM supplier outside London, with ticketing machines across the UK, as well as the Isle of Man. And it’s not just buses Ticketer can be installed on.
Ticketer software and devices are on every form of public transport, including trams, trains, hovercraft, aircraft and horse-drawn trams.
John explains how the company has grown and reached the heights it has achieved so far – ultimately, putting it down to the way you treat the customer.
“We learnt pretty quickly that if you have a good product and you support it and you see your customer as your partner – not simply as a revenue-earner – it’s a really great way to do business and you’ll grow that way,” he says.
But in the end, whether or not a company will grow falls to the product.
“The bus industry is amazing; people talk. So if you’re good, people will tell others and if you’re bad, everyone will find out,” he adds.
The products
Ticketer’s ETMs are customised and a range of machines are available to suit the needs and wants of both operators and passengers.
And as Ticketer describes it: “As technology progresses and passenger preferences change, so do our ticketing systems, future-proofing your business.”
Ticketing machines include:
- Ticketer standard
This is the company’s most popular machine. Perfect for fixed installations and busy urban routes. It boasts an adjustable screen, printer, and an ITSO-certified card reader which supports both contactless payments and an optional barcode scanner
- Ticketer compact
This machine is designed for those setups where the passenger boards away from the driver, such as smaller community buses. It offers the same screen size as its standard model, but has a smaller printer and separate card smartcard reader
- Handheld ETM
This handheld machine is perfect for smaller vehicles, and can be permanently installed, or used as a standby unit or queue buster. It does exactly the same as Ticketer standard but with the added bonus of it being totally mobile
- Ticketer in a case
This is a self-contained machine presented in a stainless-steel travel case. It’s designed for operations that need a semi-mobile point of sale machine for different locations, like schools and libraries. Just plug into the mains and go.
Watching a demonstration of Ticketer standard, it’s described as “a little box of tricks” as it does more than just process tickets. We’re told the machine is really simple, as John walks us through how it all works.
Features on the machine include: Live tracking, schedule adherence, messaging, ticket sales, and next year, it will be offering business intelligence. So rather than just reports, John says it’s going to give operators the ability to do things, such as analyse routes and ticket types.
John says: “No one should worry about how to pay. So we have cash, as well as smartcard and QR code readers – we also put QR codes on our tickets to save the driver’s time checking to see if, for example, a return ticket is valid.
“Then we introduced contactless, which provides even more data to analyse. Which brings us to demand response transport.
“Here we can say ‘come 2100hrs, it’s not worth your while to put on a bus. But actually, there are people coming on the train tonight who need to get home’ – so we’ve got demand response transport options coming through. Operators can then use the ticket machine to say ‘there’s six people coming, wait for those and take them home’.
“Anything to make it better, and increase patronage, for the bus operator.”
An app is also available called ZipTrip for customers to download. It displays when the bus will be arriving as well as journey planning, and offers the ability to purchase mtickets.
“This is the evolution of what we do,” John says.
All in the delivery
John explains that the company only has contracts with around five of its customers.
The reason for this, he says, is: “If we deliver they’ll keep with us and if we don’t deliver, we shouldn’t force them to stay with us.”
He adds: “We’ve only lost one customer in nine years, it was eight years ago and that was nothing to do with our product.
“But it keeps us on our toes; it proves we’re good and we don’t spend time trying to get all the contracts in place. The thing is, I don’t want someone if we are not delivering. But we do deliver, so that’s great.”
And how ‘great’ the company is has been shown with the response from its customers.
An independent survey carried out during the re-branding exercise using the NPS ‘Net Promotor Score’ advocacy methodology, found that Ticketer’s customers rated it higher (with a NPS of +68) than Apple iPhone customers rated the world’s first trillion-dollar company (+55).
To put that into perspective, BMW UK scores a minus figure of -21.
Technology is here to stay…
A cashless society on the buses may seem like an easy option and John explains that it’s easy enough for Ticketer to do. However, there may be repercussions on those who travel by only paying cash – with no other alternative method of payment.
“I would never want to get rid of cash, because that can stop some people travelling,” John says.
“We can go cashless, but in my opinion, I think it’s about three or four, if not more, years away because it’s so tight. Running a bus operation is hard work; you can lose some people who would have travelled but can’t because they have cash, and they have nothing else apart from that.
“With all these different ways of paying, going cashless is feasible, but I’d like to make sure we’re not going to stop people travelling.”
But with contactless proving it’s here to stay, he says operator are “excited” with the technological advancement.
“They can see the benefits to both passengers and themselves of multi-payment options, particularly as contactless has become so widespread on the high street. But they are also excited about the additional features and the benefits that they will bring to their operations.”
Rebrand
Ticketer has recently rebranded the company [routeone/news/22 August]. It has a new image and new website, including a multi-media-based news section called ‘Grapevine’.
“I’m really proud of the branding, because it’s everything we are about – doing the right thing for the customer,” says John.
Although it has seen some big changes in the rebrand, it says one thing that has not changed is “the company’s focus on making travel easier for passengers, thereby helping operators to grow their business.
“Ticketer is here to personalise public transport, through ticketing software and devices that are customised for operators, and individualised to the lives that passengers lead.
“It’s future-facing, but does things with a nod to the past. You'll see it in the way it sticks to its word and does things for the right reason, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with operators.
“Ticketer is, and will remain, the new-tech company with old-fashioned values.”
