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What are your thoughts on this, good or bad?
Wirral's bus and train tickets are going electronic as part of smartcard roll out
MERSEYTRAVEL'S scratch off, off-peak day ticket for buses, trains and ferries is going electronic, becoming the first product on the Walrus smartcard.
In a staged roll out, scratch off Saveaways will be replaced with smartcard versions in Wirral from November 24, with cards available across the rest of Merseyside by the end of March.
The tickets, which have been on sale for 40 years, will be available from around 800 PayPoint outlets across Merseyside, more than doubling the current number of places people can buy Saveaways.
Due to the popularity of Saveaways, with around three million sold last year, it is anticipated that, in the next six months, Merseyside will be one of the top regions outside London, in terms of smart ticketing transactions.
Saveaway is just the start of Merseytravel’s smart ticketing programme, with the next few years seeing a roll out of new ticket products and new ways to purchase them.
A strategy outlining what Merseyside’s smart ticketing future will look like is being developed.
Operators are currently working with Merseytravel to agree recommendations that will inform the strategy.
It follows a ticketing review with the purpose of looking afresh at Merseytravel’s suite of ticketing products, many of which have been around for 30 years, to ensure that ticketing options best meet the needs of the modern traveller.
This has included looking at the overall price structure and zoning system.
Councillor Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel, said: “Saveaway is just the start. We have to start somewhere. We were keen to get smart ticketing underway but we are taking a reasoned, incremental approach to it.
“The recommendations in the ticketing review will set the direction for where we go next.
"We want the products on the cards not just to be electronic versions of what already exists as that’s not really adding value.
"We want to develop tickets fit for the modern traveller, ones that offer convenience, choice and flexibility in when and how they purchase travel.
“We’re thinking of the bigger picture and want to start taking our customers on a journey – a journey we have to take in order to have a world class network with services to match.”
There are additional benefits to smart ticketing. The data gathered will help Merseytravel, and the operators, better understand passengers’ travelling patterns so transport services can best meet their needs.
It is also expected that smart tickets and the associated ‘touch on’ will reduce fraud and associated costs.
For a limited period, up to April 2015, people will be able to get a smart card for free on purchasing a Saveaway. From April onwards there will be a £1 activation charge for all new cards. The card is designed to be kept, re-used and, longer term, to host other ticketing products.
As not all current Saveaway retailers will have the facility to retail smart Saveaways, there will be a phasing out of scratch off Saveaway tickets at these outlets over a two month period from the time the scheme is introduced in each area.
Smart Saveaways will not be available from rail stations, but people will still be able to purchase rail-ticket style Saveaways.

For more information visit www.merseytravel.gov.uk/smartsaveaway
http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/1...lectronic_as_part_of_smartcard_roll_out/

For those that understand digital its a good thing.

I think its good.

Blimey,reading that, its ok as a general news item, but I reckon for a start, theres an awful lot of pensioners and others who are in for a puzzling time just understanding whats on offer ! I hope in due course if this goes ahead, there would be a much simpler shorter explanation of what is changing, and exactly what it means in practice for people who are not conversant with technical stuff at all. I think its taken too much for granted that elderly people will just 'catch on' to a lot of these ideas , whilst what happens is some of them cant, and tend to withdraw and do without whatever it is .

Good point. Slightly off- topic but my Nan in law could not get her head around the end of analogue tv stations. Despite having a freeview box she would not use it and referred to it as 'them foreign channels'.

From what I can see though, it is saveaways being replaced so will not affect those with o.a.p passes.

Easier for Big Brother to track you.