· Sarah Simpson, Business Change Manager
· Graeme Smyth, Public Affairs and Project Communications Officer
· William McGookin, Head of Ticketing – Translink
Minutes:
The Chairperson welcomed representatives of Translink to the meeting: Ms. S. Simpson, Business Change Manager, Mr. G. Smyth, Public Affairs and Project Communications Officer; Mr. D. Graham, Business Change Manager- Future Ticketing; and Mr. W. McGookin,Head of Ticketing Technology.
Ms. Simpson provided a presentation on Decarbonising Public Transport in Northern Ireland. She explained Translink’s Climate Positive Strategy which detailed how it wished to achieve this responsibly by:
· Achieving at least 50% reduction in Translink’s current emissions by 2030 in line with its Climate Action Pledge;
· Placing Translink at the forefront in the journey towards zero emission public transportation, and for all its buses, trains and buildings to be Net Zero by 2040;
· Metro services in Belfast will achieve this target by 2030; and
· Being Climate Positive by 2050, going beyond achieving net zero to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the environment while growing our business.
She described the ‘Framework To Achieve Climate Positive’ would be undertaken via the following priorities: Greener Vehicles (Bus Fleet Strategy, Rail Strategy, Supporting Systems); Greener Infrastructure (Energy Strategy and Sustainable Infrastructure); and Greener Business (Biodiversity, Circular Economy, Active Travel).
Ms. Simpson explained the Translink Fleet Strategy plans, with a migration to zero emissions fleet by to 2040. She described the Translink Zero Emissions Programme, which included how the battery electric vehicle (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) systems would work and illustrated a comparison of the two options.
She confirmed that the key operational considerations in the allocation of zero-emission fleet included:
· Capital expenditure and running costs;
· Infrastructure;
· Vehicle capability, that is the range;
· Climate change and air quality concerns;
· Current demand and service levels, passenger growth and future demand targets;
· Fleet age;
· Regulatory standards with regard to accessibility, emissions, and safety;
· Reducing traffic congestion; and
· Complementing other bus projects.
She highlighted that the first 20 FCEVs would operate on the Antrim Road Corridor (Metro 1 services) and suggested that the route would benefit from improved bus speeds and journey times.
She pointed out that 80 BEVs would be used across the entire Belfast Metro network where practicable, with the full conversion of the Holywood Road, Castlereagh Road and Cregagh Road, with inner city centre locations benefiting from reduced emissions.
She also explained how the Zero-Emission Fleet would deliver economic, environmental, customer experience benefits and strategic direction.
Mr. Graham provided a presentation on the future of Translink’s Ticketing System. He described the £42.7 million investment project which would provide a bespoke solution via five phases of implementation. He explained the objectives of the system, as follows:
· Connecting people and opportunities through its future ticketing system transformation to increase the use of public transport;
· Updating - Replacing its obsolete ticketing equipment to collect fares revenue and record passenger journeys; and
· Facilitating – Making it easier for passengers to buy and use their tickets, easier for Translink to sell its tickets.
He explained the next steps of the project included the replacement of rail handheld ticket machines in Summer 2021 (paper tickets and smartcard validations, credit and debit card acceptance - contactless and Chip and PIN, barcode validation - buy online, and the replacement of Metro on-bus ticket machines in Autumn 2021 - paper tickets and smartcard validations, contactless EMV acceptance on-buses which includes tap on only, flat fares, contactless bank card payments/mobile payments, and daily fare capping.
He explained the future of account based ticketing to “Turn up, Tap and Travel”, the current range of smartcards in use, and provided an example story of how account based ticketing would work and save the consumer time and money over a day of travelling.
During Members questions, the representatives explained further the anticipated timeline for the new vehicles to be in operation and their impact on emissions and renewable energy. It was reported that Translink intended to replace payment equipment across all of its fleet to enable card payments across the network and advised that they had met with Transport for London representatives to research best practice.
Ms. Simpson drew Members attention to the Climate Positive Strategy Document which provided further detail on the electrification of their fleet and their green corporate vision. She pointed out that this was available to download on the Translink’s website.
During further discussion, Ms. Simpson advised that further feedback would be provided to the Committee in relation to its renewable energy model.
Mr. McGookin explained further the contactless payments. He confirmed that concessionary fares and discounted products currently available to consumers would remain. In relation to the recent issues regarding the mLink application on particular Android mobile phones, he advised that they were working with their supplier to resolve the problems.
After discussion, the Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.
The Members of the Committee recommended that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to note the information which had been provided and that, where relevant, Translink would provide further information on the issues raised.