Liverpool set to begin smartcard transit this fall
The city of Liverpool is scheduled to make significant innovations to its public transit system this coming fall with the introduction of a smartcard payment system. Local transport officials have been testing the technology for more than a year and feel the time is right for deployment.
According to the Liverpool Daily Post, the new brand of smartcards will be launched in October and will primarily serve customers renewing seasonal passes during the early days of the program.
"I am quite exited about this," Merseytravel chief executive Neil Scales told the news source. "It will help attract more people onto public transport."
The smartcard system will be modeled on London's Oyster Card in an attempt to revive struggling ridership numbers with new technology. According to the Post, London has seen a 51 percent increase is bus use in the past decade while ridership in Liverpool has fallen nearly 20 percent during that period.
As reported by Rail.com, the smartcard initiative is just one of the technology investments that will utilize more than $3.5 million in government grants. Once completed, the Liverpool smartcard transit system will be the largest one of its kind outside of the capital city.
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Tags: Transportation ID News
