Just the Ticket for Minister Rosie Winterton MP

Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State at the Department for Transport recently visited Ecebs.

During her visit to Ecebs, the Minister, accompanied by Adam Ingram MP saw a demonstration of Trainline Smart where she used a pre-registered smartcard customer account to login, select and pay for tickets. The purchased tickets were downloaded to a smartcard and a mobile phone. The demonstration then showed the use of a smartcard and smartphone with the loaded ticket to open a gate (as at many rail stations). Handheld validators were used to check tickets on the card and phone as done by ticket inspectors.

“Visiting Ecebs provided a valuable opportunity to see some examples of how innovative technology may address future transport challenges and tackle issues of sustainability in the UK and beyond. I am grateful to Adam Ingram and the staff of Ecebs for making my visit so informative and interesting” said Rosie Winterton.

Ecebs are working with ITSO to enhance the ITSO specifications to enable a secure open source smartcard ticket download capability. This additional functionality is required before Trainline Smart can be realised in the market place. ITSO technology is the Government's defined standard for nationally accepted smart card ticketing in the UK which is being rolled-out in stages across all UK rail and bus routes.

David Braddock, Managing Director of Ecebs, said, “Transport passengers want to manage their ticket purchases with the reassurance that the technology is secure. Using the ITSO specification provides the environment where tickets can reach the purchaser without the fear of tampering or the loss of the ticket.”



From left to right: Sheryll McSpurren, Sales Engineer, Ecebs Limited; Rosie Winterton MP; Adam Ingram MP