Ticketing for West Midlands’ bus users is set to be transformed thanks to the signing of a fundamental deal between Centro, the West Midland’s passenger transport authority and transit system supplier Wayfarer, part of the Parkeon Group

The two organisations have joined together to provide the region with the latest generation of bus ticket machines, which will automatically read ITSO compatible Smartcards including England’s National Concessionary Travel Pass.

Geoff Inskip, chief executive of Centro, said: “The deal is a key component of our plan to implement Smartcard technology on the West Midlands public transport network. It will provide the region with a fast, efficient and simple ticketing solution - an equivalent to London’s Oyster card.

“This forms an essential part of our Network West Midlands initiative which is the foundation of our aspirations to provide passengers with one of the most well informed, easy-to-use, integrated public transport networks in the world.”

Buses currently provide 92 per cent of all public transport journeys in the West Midlands with the region’s biggest operator carrying more than one million people a day.

Centro has specified Wayfarer to supply and install more than 2,300 of the machines for the West Midland’s bus operators, and to also provide the administrative and technical support for the equipment.

Wayfarer is involved in every major ITSO smart card scheme in Britain, working alongside operational partners across the North West, in Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, as well as Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire, and in Scotland and Wales. In the North West alone, more than 15 million successful smartcard transactions have been processed using Wayfarer technology.

The Wayfarer TGX200 machines, which are part of the company’s revolutionary

e-Bus family, can also link in to all the complex systems and applications featured on even the most modern passenger vehicles.

They can be configured to support every fare and journey type, including concessionary schemes for children, over 60s and disabled people.

Parkeon Transport Systems Director Phillippe Millet said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Centro on a ticketing solution that not only meets today’s requirements but is fully flexible in accommodating systems being planned by the organisation and West Midlands bus operators going forward. We look forward to bringing the benefits of ITSO and e-Bus to Centro, bus companies and their customers.”