The future of transport ticketing - What Crossrail can teach us

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) are the leading integrator of payment and information solutions and related services for intelligent travel applications, and a proud supporter of London Transport Museum for the last 30 years. This blog will delve deeper into their work on the recently opened Elizabeth line, looking at how CTS have been involved, and the wider ramifications of the Crossrail project on the future of transportation.

Crossrail opens: A new era for London travel

After its much anticipated arrival, the Elizabeth line opened in May 2022, marking a new era for London travel. Now fully operational, the railway links Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, to Heathrow and Reading in the west, via central London. It has increased central London rail capacity by 10 percent, reduced congestion in the capital, and created a more seamless travel experience.

According to the Department for Transport, the line has helped ease transport for Londoners and tourists alike: it is estimated to bring £45 billion to the UK economy, and set to create an additional 55,000 jobs. The 42 stations that the Elizabeth line boasts are step free, enabling access and smooth transport to all transit riders. These achievements are impressive but should be expected for a project which took £9 billion in government investment and was officially opened by none other than the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Every ticket matters

At the opening of the Elizabeth line, Her Majesty The Queen demonstrated just how seamless the ticketing system is, with her use of a prepaid Oyster card. However, the Oyster card is certainly not the only payment method available. No matter who you are, Cubic Transportation Systems makes it possible to travel around London with ease, whether it’s by Oyster card, mobile or paper ticket. As tech has evolved, so has transport ticketing, with the Elizabeth line accepting all these tokens. CTS has helped contribute to Crossrail’s success through the integration of the Heathrow Express (HEX) with Transport for London’s system, to allow Oyster, Contactless and ITSO smart ticketing to be used for travel. This provides HEX customers with the same ease of travel as experienced by the rest of Greater London users.

Other innovations CTS have been behind on the ticketing of this service include an integrated Barcode system that provides the ability of customers from around the world to be able to purchase tickets in advance via their phone or web to make travel enjoyable. This enables transit riders from all corners of the world to plan and make use of the excellent transport systems available when in London and surrounding areas, without the added worry of changing currency or using foreign ticketing machines.

For those customers who prefer to get physical tickets, the ticket vending machines developed by CTS have undergone advances. The ticket vending machine incorporated all the key features already developed for Transport for London with the integration of full National Rail tickets as well.

The future of transport ticketing

The Elizabeth line aims to cater to each and every one of its transit riders and their needs by incorporating new technologies into the structure of Transport for London. Everything from how the stations were laid out, to how people pay for tickets, was built with accessibility in mind. There is an array of gates, including a wide gate aisle at every exit to ensure pushchair or wheelchair users have access.

These innovations in the ticketing systems reduce congestion, expand accessibility and meet customer demand, enabling truly smart transit. Looking forward, we can expect to see increasingly more technology used to meet customer needs in transport and this is just the beginning of the profoundly transformative impact it will have upon the world of transportation.