06/09/2011
Councillor Mark Dowd, OBE is Chair of the Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority and was interviewed by members of the START Consortium in August 2011.
What do you feel the key benefits are for Merseytravel and the local region by participating in the START project?
As lead partner in the START project, Merseytravel is delighted to be involved in this innovative, transnational project with our partners in Scotland, France, Portugal and Spain. The START project has made a real difference to public transport in the Liverpool city region and I believe will continue to do so in the future.
As part of the project we have been able to introduce a Smartcard trial aimed at visitors to the region. The Smartcard is available in a transport or tourism version which allows travel from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Liverpool City Centre by bus and rail. The tourism version also allows entry into The Beatles Story Museum and a cruise on the world famous Mersey Ferries.
Both cards use smartcard technology which allows users to enter the bus and train or attraction by pressing the card against a reader. This benefits visitors as they do not need several different tickets to make the journey or pay with cash.
The Smartcard pilot has also acted as a useful trial for the smartcard technology as from autumn 2011 Merseytravel will be introducing the first phase of our Smartcard network which, once complete, will be the largest in the UK outside of London. The first phase will see season tickets move over to the new ‘Walrus’ branded Smartcards.Working and exchanging ideas with partners from across Europe has also benefited Merseytravel as an organisation as we have been able to exchange best practice and transfer knowledge with the project partners involved in START.
Is providing multimodal information a priority for Merseytravel?
It certainly is, over the past 15 years Merseytravel have strived to improve the multimodal information provided to everybody using public transport in the city region. We have also worked hard on improving the information provided at our bus, ferry and rail stations and these all now include local area maps which provide information on the other transport modes available in the area.
We have always had good quality printed information available but as times have changed we have developed a comprehensive information service through our website. Of course, with ongoing advances in communication, ie smart phones, we have had to adapt the ways our customers can access information. Over the next few months we will be improving our website so that customers can take advantage of these advances in new technology.
What future is there for START/Integra in the Liverpool City Region?
Hopefully a big one! Merseytravel are keen to continue the Integra concept after the START project has finished. We can see the benefits for the Liverpool city region’s involvement in the concept, in particular the developments which will provide multilingual information for travellers across Europe. Tourists arriving in Liverpool will be guided to the appropriate transport services using the distinctive Integra branding at key gateways to our region.
What can delegates expect to get from the START final event?
The START final event will ask the question ‘How to make sustainable transport easy to use by all?’ and will attempt to answer it during the 2-day Transnational Forum. The event is aimed at local and regional decision makers and practitioners in the field of transport and territorial development. There will be numerous topics discussed at the event and several of the leading practitioners in their fields will be making presentations.
Sounds interesting, when and where is the START final event?
The START final event will take place at the Centro Cultural de Belem (CCB) in Lisbon on 27 and 28 October 2011. The event is free to attend and simultaneous translation will be provided, it would be really good to see as many delegates as possible from across Europe in Lisbon. For further details and to register please see www.start-project.eu/en/Events.aspx.