INIT to continue to be used on Nottingham’s buses

Contactless ticketing and vehicle location technology provided by INIT will remain on Nottingham’s buses for a further six years. Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has agreed to renew its contract with the firm.

The new agreement will see INIT provide Account Based Ticketing (ABT), enhancements of the planning, driver dispatching and rostering system, and an upgrade of the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for NCT. INIT – which has its UK operations headquartered in the city’s Lace Market area – has provided tracking and ticketing solutions for the operator for 21 years, most notably rolling out contactless payments during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.The initial phase – which included AVL systems – was expanded to provide NCT with a fully integrated system, including ticketing, service planning and driver dispatch.

The upgraded systems introduced as part of the extended partnership will include the replacement of the traditional Easyrider Card Based System with an Easyrider Account Based Ticketing solution. This will allow passengers to choose either card or mobile barcode for travel on NCT’s network, making it easier for them to manage their account, purchase or top up their travel products, as well as obtain their journey history in real time with greater ease.

Passengers can also have all their family members’ travel managed under one account and enjoy the same benefits. This will complement the existing contactless scheme, which always calculates the best value fare.

An additional element of the upgrade is to INIT’s MOBILE-ITCS nextGen automatic vehicle location system. This scalable, future-proof operations control system offers extensive functions and improved GUIs to assist NCT in providing a reliable network of services.

“This new SaaS agreement marks an exciting new chapter, bringing smarter, more seamless travel experiences to passengers through Account Based Ticketing and the next generation of cloud capable back office systems” – Jens Mullak, managing director of INIT

Jens Mullak, managing director of INIT, said: “After 21 years of partnership, we’re delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with Nottingham City Transport, supporting one of the UK’s most forward-thinking public transport networks.

“This new SaaS agreement marks an exciting new chapter, bringing smarter, more seamless travel experiences to passengers through Account Based Ticketing and the next generation of cloud capable back office systems. By harmonising ticketing, AVL and planning and dispatching, we are not only improving convenience for passengers but also empowering NCT to operate more efficiently and responsively than ever before.”

“NCT and INIT have partnered for over 21 years” – Anthony Carver-Smith, Head of Marketing and Projects at Nottingham City Transport

Anthony Carver-Smith, Head of Marketing and Projects at Nottingham City Transport, said, “NCT and INIT have partnered for over 21 years, delivering high quality real-time predictions to customers through the NCTX Buses app and website and a ticketing solution which saw the first multi modal, multi-operator capped contactless system introduced in the UK outside London. We are delighted to build on this success through our new six-year contract, which will see significant upgrades to both of these systems and our internal scheduling systems at the same time.”