New mobile ticket system signals richer functionality and cost savings for UK’s largest rail franchise
Worldline [Euronext: WLN], European leader in the payment and transactional services industry, has inked a deal with the UK’s largest rail franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway, to replace the operator’s current desktop Ticketing Issuing Services (TIS) with the Worldline Mobile Ticketing Service, @Station.
The @Station system will provide significant advantages of a Mobile point-of-sale system, including the ability to ‘queue bust’ as well as cross and upsell both Rail Settlement Plan and non-RSP products to customers. It will also ensure that GTR is Direct Acquiring (DA) compliant.
The upgraded systems are bolstering the technological capabilities across the GTR network at a time of modernisation for the UK’s busiest rail operator. The organisation is halfway through a transformation plan set to enhance the rail experience for passengers, while continuing to operate its growing interconnected services, and adopting leading technology for issuing tickets is an important part of this process, with the key smartcard a recent addition, designed to boost the customer experience.
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The contract builds on an existing relationship between GTR, its Go-Ahead Group parent company, and Worldline. GTR already uses Worldline onboard ticket issuing systems, and Go-Ahead Group recently procured 585 mobile onboard TIS units from Worldline.
Implementation of the new mobile system will begin in the fourth quarter and is set to complete by the end of 2017, with GTR to benefit from cost savings from the commencement of installation.
The @Station service shares the same back office architecture as Worldline onboard TIS, so all mobile ticket sales data will be captured through one system. Using Worldline’s mobile and onboard systems in tandem also delivers operational synergies and efficiencies. Staff should quickly become familiar with the user interface, lowering training and support costs, and enabling flexibility in staff deployment.