Today, fragmented legacy systems, proprietary technologies, and inconsistent governance hinder progress toward seamless travel experiences. This report identifies the barriers and opportunities shaping transformation and provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, Local Transport Authorities (LTAs), operators and industry partners.

Integrated ticketing is critical to achieving modal shift, improving accessibility and supporting decarbonisation. The report highlights key enablers for change, including:

• Open Standards & Procurement Reform: Embedding shared APIs and modular design to reduce vendor lock-in and enable interoperability.
• Single Source of Truth Dataset (SSTD): Harmonising timetable, fare, and entitlement data to underpin journey planning, real-time information and account-based ticketing.
• Customer-Centric Design: Simplified fares with capping, equitable entitlement schemes and modal-agnostic solutions.
• Governance & Policy Innovation: Empowering LTAs and Sub-national Transport Bodies with standards-led procurement and introducing tools such as salary sacrifice schemes to incentivise sustainable travel.

Drawing on UK and international case studies, the Spotlight demonstrates how technology-neutral infrastructure, multi-token account-based ticketing and inclusive design can deliver a fair, accessible, and future-proof system. It also addresses challenges such as digital exclusion, fragmented standards and funding gaps, offering practical solutions to overcome them.

With strategic investment, coordinated governance and a commitment to open standards, the UK can transition from operator-led initiatives to a coherent national framework. This transformation will create a seamless, sustainable and equitable transport network that meets the needs of all users and supports broader social and environmental goals.

Integrated ticketing spotlight

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