Preparing for the era of the Travel Supermarket

How far away is the day when you can buy all your travel ticketing in a single transaction? Not long, believes Peter Stonham - but there are barriers to overcome, and they are more organisational than technological

Transport system users face many choices in how they travel. In mode, route, types of service, price for different timings and speeds, payment mechanism and loyalty scheme discounts, and any enhancements they may wish to add, from class of service to seat reservation and catering extras.

Finding out all these options to construct a journey, and its cost, has always been a challenge, with no comprehensive information point generally available, even within single operating organisations, about...