Decision details

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will need to sell tram tickets when it takes back the operation of the tram system in March 2024. The key digital retail channel will be a Travel South Yorkshire mobile phone app.

The tram ticketing app will require a third-party Payment Service Provider to take secure payments for the sale of tram tickets.

The tram app will retail tickets in secure barcode format and load tickets to smartcards using ITSO standards. Both standards attract ongoing revenue per transaction charges and will require a third-party provider to offer these services.

To appoint Global Payments as the PSP supplier due to the most economically advantageous price. Approve a contract term of 3 + 1 years with a maximum value of £600,000.

Appoint Yorcard to provide ITSO & Barcode ticketing standards as they are a not-for-profit company owned by SYMCA and West Yorkshire Combined Authority and are developing the TSY retailing app. Approve a minimum contract term of 3 + 1 years with a maximum contract value of £275,000.

Options considered PSP provider:

• The option to utilise the current PSP contracts in place that support TVM sales and online concessionary pass replacement charges were considered. However, the value of the forecast transaction costs would exceed the upper limits in place on those contracts.

• Carrying out a full market tender exercise was considered. However due to short timescales and limited expert knowledge of financial regulations and PSP processes where ‘a card is not present’ within SYMCA, using the Crown Commercial Framework was deemed the most appropriate way forward.

Options considered ITSO/Barcode standards

• SYMCA could source a different supplier to provide the Part 11 ITSO standards required to retail tickets to a smartcard. However, as Yorcard provide our back-office ITSO estate for circa 400,000 concessionaires, 150,000 ITSO transactions though SYMCA ticket vending machines, are developing the TSY retail app and are a not-for-profit company jointly owned by SYMCA & WYCA this option was discounted.
To appoint Global Payments as the PSP supplier due to the most economically advantageous price. Approve a contract term of 3 + 1 years with a maximum value of £600,000.

Appoint Yorcard to provide ITSO & Barcode ticketing standards as they are a not-for-profit company owned by SYMCA and West Yorkshire Combined Authority and are developing the TSY retailing app. Approve a minimum contract term of 3 + 1 years with a maximum contract value of £275,000.