The 1985 transport act has increased the opportunity for all public transport operators to participate in local authority concessionary fares schemes. Guidance has been published which indicates three acceptable methods of calculating reimbursement to individual operators. One method involves the monitoring of concessionaires' journeys with on-board electronic equipment. At the time no suitable equipment existed. TRRL encouraged the development of equipment which could be used for the monitoring of concessionary travel. A trial was initiated in Eastbourne to determine the equipment's reliability, ease of use by concessionaires and its effect on boarding times. The results obtained indicate that elderly persons in Eastbourne were able to use the system without too much difficulty, that boarding times are not increased significantly and that overall the equipment operated successfully in the demanding operating environment of a public service vehicle. (Author/publisher)
Abstract