Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's forecast expenditure on smart ticketing schemes in the rail industry is in each year from 2015-16 to 2019-20; and what estimated completion dates there are for smart ticketing projects during that period.

By the end of 2018, my aim is for every passenger to have the choice of travelling without a paper ticket. In the first instance this means commuters having access to a smart season ticket, and other travellers being able to buy and use barcode tickets on their mobile phones anywhere on the network. In a recent speech at the National Transport Awards in October, my Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport, set out his goal to establish a special project team in the department, under senior leadership, to work with the industry to introduce season tickets on smart cards within the next 2 years. As announced at the Autumn Statement, the government will spend around £80m to accelerate the roll out of smart ticketing, including season tickets for commuters in the UK’s major cities. My Department will oversee the delivery of these programmes with the first Department for Transport and industry Smart Rail Delivery Board meeting planned for January 2017.