Manchester presses ahead with smartcard rollout

Transport authority serves notice for IT services underpinning ticketing rollout

Manchester is working on its smartcard scheme

The Greater Manchester passenger transport executive (Gmpte) is seeking a vendor to provide the core technology supporting its planned smartcard scheme.

Gmpte wants a managed, hosted platform to run and deliver the region’s public transport smart ticketing services under a contract that could be worth between £5m and £30m.

The project encompasses tasks that include systems design, hosting, back-office hardware and software, and integration to the authority’s host operator processing and card management systems.

Provision of validators and handheld devices to read the smartcards is also mentioned in the tender, as is the supply of retail systems integration to ticket vending machines and other retail systems.

According to the contract notice, Gmpte reserves the “unilateral right” to extend the scope of the scheme to cover the bus and rail network in Greater Manchester, as well as parking and cycle schemes, and any other ticketing related activity.

Interested parties must submit proposals by 25 March.