E-ticketing and other improvements to public transport

Summary

Changing the trend towards a growth in car use at the expense of public transport is one of the greatest challenges for mobility planning in Denmark.

Implementing sustainable mobility

Faced with falling public transport passenger numbers and the declining profitability of public transport services, innovative measures were needed to change travel behaviour in favour of sustainable modes.

The objectives of the measure were to:

• increase the quality, attractiveness and accessibility of alternative transport modes in Odense through a bus priority scheme and advanced information services, including an sms ticket selling service and real-time passenger information; and
• carry out interrelated innovative activities to promote the use of the new services, including marketing and media campaigns.

Progress

Between January 2006 and October 2006, a campaign was launched to raise awareness of public transport in Odense and to create a better image for the system. Posters were displayed encouraging citizens to use the buses and a new website was created giving information about timetables and prices. In summer 2006, water bottles were handed out featuring the address of the new website, and in autumn 2006, 5,000 umbrellas were handed out also promoting the site.

An electronic communications campaign was also implemented. In January 2008, an sms ticket scheme was launched, allowing passengers to pay their fares by mobile phone and to show the sms to the bus driver as proof of purchase. The scheme was developed in cooperation with the phone operator TDC and passengers are charged for their bus travel on their phone bill. Passengers can also use WAP to download actual timetables. Real-time information screens were installed in five locations in the city. A bus priority system based on GPS was also installed.

Outcomes

A total of 5,001 sms tickets were sold per month during the first year. The system was taken over by the regional transport company FynBus and achieved a daily sale rate of 178 tickets, representing 4 to 5 percent of total sales. The creative use of mobile phones was appealing to young people and was a cost-efficient way of using people’s existing devices for new uses.

The WAP application for downloading timetables of local buses attracted 10,052 registered users in two years.

The four information screens at the bus terminal are each used on average 5,588 times per month.

The bus priority system increased travel speeds by 3 percent in the evening and 1 percent during the day.

A 2006 survey involving 402 citizens showed that 87 percent of users of the website were happy with its accessibility.