Baker and Borg take cautious DfT steps towards payment revolution

The transport minister and his civil servant led discussion on the future of smart ticketing in the UK. But Transport for London’s actions are making the running. Peter Stonham reports

Transport Minster Norman Baker devoted much of his speech to how his department is promoting steps towards smart payment systems.

Transport Minster Norman Baker devoted much of his speech to how his department is promoting steps towards smart payment systems.

There were lively debates  on the future of smart ticketing and payment at two key sessions in the Travel 2020 conference. Transport Minister Norman Baker, and Jenni Borg, his senior civil servant responsible for the topic, both came under pressure to move away from current commitments to a single smartcard technology solution and embrace new options for the EMV bank card and mobile phone payments already being implemented within TfL and some train and bus operators.

The first indications...