West Midlands takes major step towards Oyster-style smart travel card

Rail users will benefit from best value fare capping at up to 75 West Midlands railway stations using Swift, the region’s smart ticketing scheme, under a new pilot to simplify rail fares and payment, announced by Government.

This means that Swift smartcard users will be able to seamlessly tap and go using rail, bus and tram services with convenience and confidence when the pilot launches next year.

It means that West Midlands Swift smartcard users will, for the first time, enjoy a similar experience to London Oyster card users – to tap in and out and secure the best value fare without having to plan ahead or seek out the right ticket. Bus and tram passengers already benefit from this, using Swift Go.

Passengers will also enjoy the benefit of capped fares over a day or a week safe in the knowledge they will never overpay and can continue to travel at no charge once a cap is reached.  This offers passengers greater flexibility over when or how often they travel without being penalised.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) have teamed up with the Department for Transport and Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) on the pilot as well as working on further improvements for the region’s rail passengers.

It is the result of the Trailblazer Deeper Devolution Deal agreed last year which gives the WMCA and WMRE a greater say in how our railways are run. The partners are now working on the technology to deliver the pilot.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair said: “Our Swift smartcard already enables passengers to transfer seamlessly between our various local bus operators and Metro tram services whilst guaranteeing they get best value fares.

“Thanks to this pilot scheme, we will now add rail to our offering - making Swift truly multi-modal and bringing us much closer to a London ‘Oyster card’ style system.

“This is a practical example of how the Deeper Devolution Deal we agreed with Government is delivering tangible benefits for local people right across our region.”

Rail Minister Huw Merrimen, who is visiting Wolverhampton Railway Station to announce the pilot, said: We want to encourage more people back onto our trains, with tap-in technology meaning using our stations couldn’t be easier.

“Our railways have a long history, but projects like these – part of the government’s wider plans for reform – will ensure they have a bright future too.”

In parallel to this pilot, TfWM is working in partnership with bus operators and Midlands Connect to develop a new contactless smart payment system.

This will allow travellers to use their contactless debit or credit card to automatically secure best value fares across a range of bus and tram operators.   

The 75 railway stations are those within the TfWM operational area covering the seven metropolitan local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solilhull, Walsall and Wolverhampton or zones 1 to 5 on the regional network. It includes five new stations currently under construction.