Oyster-Style Smart Card to Make Bus Use More Convenient and Better Value

The recent news that we have been successful in securing funding to deliver our plans for an Oyster-style smart card for use on local buses across Bedford Borough is great news for local public transport. As I've said previously, there is still some way to go to plan and agree all of the details. We need to make sure the bus operators are happy with the scheme and fully signed up, or else a number of the benefits of having one, simple card to make getting around the borough easier and better value will be lost. So it's better to make sure we get it right than to rush it and briing in a scheme that doesn't deliver the radical improvement for bus users that we all want to see.

I have seen it suggested more than once that a new smart card will mean that paying by cash will be 'banned' and that a smart card will be compulsory if you want to use the bus. While the full details are still to be agreed, we can all rest assured that this will not be the case. The purpose of the smart card is to make things easier and more convenient for users and to give them a choice of payment methods, not to limit people's options!

I wrote about the new smart card's in my latest column for the Times and Citizen. If you didn't see it, I have reproduced it below:

"Last week's edition of the Times and Citizen reported the exciting news of a major boost for public transport here in Bedford Borough, in the form of the introduction of an Oyster-style smart card for use on all local buses. It will take some time to work up the details of the scheme alongside the bus operators and, crucially, bus users, but the design and planning of the scheme can get underway in earnest now after we were successful in winning funding from the government for this and other initiatives to increase bus usage.

We have wanted to introduce this for some while, and I'm delighted that the Government has recognised our commitment to making a real, positive difference to local public transport in awarding the grant. The awards made through the 'Better Bus Fund' tend to be concentrated towards large cities, but with our record of radically extending services on Sundays and in late evenings and of maintaining a strong rural network we have shown in Bedford Borough that we will protect and improve services for residents.

The smart card will work on a pre-pay basis, allowing you to 'top-up' the card via a variety of convenient ways such as online at home, for example. It will mean faster, shorter queues to get on the bus. It will also mean bus users, not to mention parents of young bus users, will no longer have to worry about whether they have enough change before catching a bus!

Of course, many local bus services across Bedford Borough are primarily designed around getting people into and out of the town centre, so any schemes which boost bus usage and make services easier to use are good news for the town centre economy.

There is the potential, in time, for the smart card to be used to pay for council services and, in theory, other goods and services locally. The possibilities are huge, but as we take these first steps in introducing smart cards on local buses, it is crucial that we get the basics right for a scheme which should be benefitting local residents for years to come."