Electronic ticketing system to be introduced in Thessaloniki urban transport system

The tender for the installation and operation of the electronic ticketing system  in Thessaloniki is in full progress. Reportedly, the competition started last Friday and yesterday the one and only bid, submitted by the J/V TERNA ENERGY-INDIGITAL-AMCO, was unveiled.

According to the same information, the tender will proceed normally, as the significant success of the electronic ticketing system in Athens, with the steep increase in revenue and the geometric reduction in free-ridership, make the new system’s implementation a certain decision. The contracting authority is “Information Society” SA.

TERNA ENERGY has already gained considerable experience in implementing the same project in Athens. There, along with LG, it had undertaken, through a PPP tender, the installation of the e-ticketing  system across the Metro, Tram, Suburban Railway and buses’/trolley-buses lines.

Paper ticket era ends – “Smart” tickets on the way

OASTH’s (i.e. Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization) planning is to install an integrated automatic fare collection system that will replace the outdated paper ticketing system that exists today.

The new system will be installed on both Metro and buses, with the installation of entrance-exit barriers in Metro stations as well as machinery in all buses’ entrances and exits.

This means that the system will applied on 18 Metro stations and approximately 600 OASTH buses. The cost of the project is estimated at 39m euros (excluding VAT).

Since the signing of the contract, it is estimated that it will take approximately 2 years for the system to start operating.

A break on free-ridership

According to earlier studies, free-ridership in Thessaloniki has an annual cost of 17-20m euros annually, a huge sum for the economic size and sustainability of the city’s urban transport organization.

With the gradual introduction of the e-ticket, first on buses and then on the Metro network, it is estimated that passenger traffic will increase from 6% to 20%, with a prospect of up to 40%.

In Athens, OASA (Athens Urban Transport Organization) for 2018, having fully implemented the e-ticketing system, saw a revenue growth of 14.16% and operating profit of 3.2 million euros.