Next-generation Ticketing – Contactless public transport ticketing

Ireland

KPMG were commercial advisors to the National Transport Authority (NTA) in their procurement of a state-of-the-art public transport ticketing system to be rolled out across Ireland. The Next Generation Ticketing (NGT) project aims to improve customer experience by expanding the payment options available to transport users, including contactless payments (bank card, phone, or smartwatch), travel card payments, 2D barcodes, and the possibility of a Be-In Be-Out automated Bluetooth payment solution. NGT will encompass all modes of public transport, including buses, heavy rail, trams, and the planned Metro.

NGT is strategically important to the NTA as it will replace aging infrastructure, reduce payments by cash (which remain the second biggest source of bus delays), and will be an important component in encouraging public transport uptake, making sustainable transport easy to use for locals and tourists alike.

The NGT procurement was one of the largest and most complex ICT procurements in Ireland in recent years, given its technical nature and scale of rollout. In the global transport ticketing industry, NGT was also one of the largest recent procurements due to the contract encompassing an entire country's public transport, rather than a specific city, as is the norm.

KPMG supported the NTA throughout the procurement, providing commercial, procurement, evaluation, and business case advisory services. These required a high level of commercial acumen, interaction with key government and private stakeholders, skilled coordination with technical/legal advisors, and financial analysis/modelling—all delivered in a timely fashion by a highly experienced team.