About The Transport Card Forum
The Transport Card Forum (TCF) is a joint venture by the UK DfT (Department for Transport) and Smartex. Membership is open to all who are involved professionally with transport applications of Smart Cards within the UK, and is by annual subscription. The TCF was established to assist in enabling the implementation of integrated transport policies as set out in the UK government Integrated Transport White Paper.
The TCF meets in plenary sessions 4 times per year. The majority of its work is carried out in Working Groups which report to TCF and DfT.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Smart cards are now being adopted globally as the premier consumer ticketing or payment token for a broad range of public transport applications. However, many of the benefits which this technology could offer, to both the travelling public and transport service operators, are not being realised because of the fragmented and proprietary nature of many current scheme developments. Great Britain is no exception to this, with a number of local schemes being implemented for towns and cities without the adoption of a common set of standards allowing card or terminal interoperability. In addition, smart technology is being used by other market sectors in isolation, and the potential for single cards to carry several different applications is not being adequately addressed or realised. At a national level, the UK Government set out strategies for developing transport in its Integrated Transport White Paper, including road user charging on urban and inter-urban roads - both applications which might well require the use of smart cards. Whilst charging schemes may be implemented at a local level, it is recognised that this must be done under suitable national and international standards. The DfT recognises that it has an important role to play in encouraging, promoting and in some cases overseeing the efficient and effective use of smart technology for those transport applications which fall within its remit. To address these issues, and to make more cohesive the adoption of smart cards within transport schemes, the DfT has encouraged the formation of a national forum, The Transport Card Forum, through which all parties can learn of the various issues, needs and opportunities relating to smart technology for transport. With better knowledge and awareness of others' interests, the DfT hopes that both the public and the private sectors will be better placed to develop smart card-based schemes. The Forum is also helping project planning to be undertaken with more confidence that the schemes will interoperate where appropriate, and so allow members of the travelling public to use a single token to accomplish a complete journey wherever possible. The Transport Card Forum is open to any organisation or individual with an interest in the interactions between smart cards and transport in Great Britain, whether as transport operator, PTE, local authority, component or system supplier, consultant or other organisation concerned with the widespread adoption and use of smart technology. The main aims and objectives of the Forum are to identify, through its working groups and by regular plenary meetings, those specific areas where it feels there is a potential beneficial and active role to play in: - encouraging the introduction, co-ordination or development of smart technology in transport
- identifying and defining proposed actions for DfT and other organisations to take nationally or internationally
- initiating and / or influencing the development of standards
Members of the Forum also receive information about main smart card activities. From the launch of the Forum in 1999, early consideration has been given to the concept of the "seamless whole journey" (see, for example, pages 47-49 of the White Paper, and the recently published ITSO specification), and to the implementation of a single specification for the combination of smart cards with all aspects of transport including congestion charging, traveller information services, parking charges etc. The Forum also addresses the problems associated with the current proliferation of transport-based City and Town card schemes, often operated in a fragmented way using proprietary components and systems. Jill Adam of the DfT, who has recently taken over from Eric Sampson, is the second Chairman of the Forum and supervises a small Steering Committee to assist in the formulation of meeting programmes and working group activities. Smartex Limited provides administrative and secretarial services for the Forum, and takes responsibility for the financial arrangements. domestically and overseas, relating both to operational and technical aspects, with a particular reference to transport applications. |
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