Ticketing
This part of the project involves concrete steps towards an intergrated ticketing frame for transnational traffic. Integration will take place in different respects: territorially, cross-border and as well as intermodal with the focus on door-to-door tickets and parking) Different means will be applied: 

Ticket machines will be upgraded as well as web-based booking facilities. Multifunction PDA-based ticketing systems have to be put in place.

Pilots in different contexts, benefiting from experiences in previous HST-related projects and exchange between the pilts will guarantee an wider scope and high quality solutions.

Marketing
Closely related to ticketing is the marketing of these new ticketing and tarification measures. The main aim is to develop tailor-made marketing tools for demanding customer groups:

• to supply (potential) customers with up-to-date (travel) information.
• to encourage behavioural change and realise a modal shift towards rail transport, also on cross border connections.

Ticketing
Payment trials will be run on multifunction PDA-based smart ticketing systems for public transport, car parking and other services in Reading. The trials will focus on public transport services on the South Reading corridor which include a P&R and key residential and business communities. On a cross-border level, measurements towards are taken to provide the traveler with just one ticket from door to door.

On a territorial and multimodal level, a study in close cooperation with train operators and public transport authorities in the respective dutch and german regions will investigate the deepest possible integration of various tarification systems.

An action plan will be set up to implement new common tarification structures and tickets on the connection Eindhoven-Aachen. A step-by-step integration of this plan into new, web-based booking facilities, upgraded ticket machines, or ticket-machine software and PDA-based facilities will follow.

Marketing
Elements of marketing include: 

• individualised marketing and encouraging behavioural change to realise more sustainable travel patterns.
• preparatory research into how different marketing techniques can encourage different target groups to make best use of the travel information network and payment systems.
• Formulation and dissemination of information to travelers, e.g. on multimodal journey planning, public transport, car parking, events, incidents, comparative travel choice, carbon footprint etc.
• extending on the WiMAX/WiFi wireless communications network delivered through a SEEDA R&D project.
• Provision of a testbed for understanding the opportunities afforded by the communication network for improved traveler information.
• Provision of free public access to Readings trevel information network via WiFi by mobile phones, PDAs, PCs.

For branding and marketing of new connections, following steps will be treated: 

• conception of a professional atractive brand for the new IC-connection (significant name, logo and corporate colour scheme).
• conception of a strategic marketing campaign on the basis of the brand.
• integration in existing marketing plans (of operators, regional public transport authorities, connected cities, connected universities/research facilities).
• connection to integrated ticketing.

The RoCK partners are actively involved through the transnational working group in following the progress of the Reading investment with the key aim to transfer as much experience as possible to their own projects. The partners are going to use technical as well as practical experience derived from Reading to integrate in their own marketing.

Click here for the investment leaflet Integrated ticketing & marketing 

Lead: City of Reading

Other partner cities are: Aachen, Eindhoven, Venlo and Mönchengladbach.

Other organisations closely involved are:

Deutsche Bahn Regio NRW (Germany)
NS, (The Netherlands)
AVV, the regional public transport authority in the Aachen area