Transport Scotland appoints Unicard HOPS to support ITSO schemes

Transport Scotland has appointed Unicard Ltd, smart ticketing and payment solutions provider as its Host Operator or Processing System (HOPS) central back office solution, to securely processes all smart transactions. The service will manage both ITSO commercial and the Scottish National Concessionary Travel Scheme. The scheme entitles 1.4 million older and disabled people to free bus transport, and discounted travel concessions for young people (Young Scot Cardholders), throughout Scotland.  

Unicard’s HOPS provides Transport Scotland with the ability to monitor live reporting data, track concessionary fares and manage smart reimbursements with transport operators and can be configured to support the Scottish Government’s plans to introduce a national concessionary bus travel scheme for the under 19s age group and disabled children under 5 with free transport for their companion. It can also be configured to support commercial ticketing for other modes of public transport across Scotland. 

Debbie Walker, Business and Operations Manager, Transport Scotland, explained: “Public transport services in Scotland have had to adapt to the COVID-19 situation. The Unicard platform will help us to ensure that concessionary ticketing services are provided to the highest standard and with continuity, allowing us to use the data produced by the platform to monitor journeys and passenger numbers. This deployment reflects our ongoing investment in digital services to deliver a sustainable transport network that allows all journeys in Scotland to made using smart ticketing or payment”.

ITSO worked with Transport Scotland on the migration from its previous HOPS. Debbie added "We are grateful for the support and assistance we have received from ITSO in supporting the smooth transfer and continuity of critical services.”

Sean Dickinson, CEO of Unicard, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with Transport Scotland. The Unicard HOPS is a comprehensive back office system that supports smart ticketing and payment services. It will play an integral role in supporting concessionary travel across Scotland. We continue to expand our solutions and services to other parts of the UK, whilst continuing to work closely with some of the largest Local Authorities in England. Our solutions portfolio helps customers to capitalise on new opportunities presented by Future Transport Zones, and the renewed investment in public transport. Our fully integrated and hosted solutions enable Local Authorities to incorporate bikes, e-scooters and electric vehicles to their existing bus and rail travel schemes”.