GPSJ Autumn 2024 ONLINE - Flipbook - Page 6
GPSJ
NEWS
CrossCountry takes on Arriva Customer Engine
(ACE) in customer platform contract
Long-distance train operator
CrossCountry has today,
Friday 28 February, announced
the award of a multi-year
contract to develop their
digital customer platform
to Arriva Customer Engine
(ACE) following a competitive
procurement process.
Cutting-edge digital platform
ACE currently powers websites
and mobile apps for various UK
transport operators, o昀昀ering an
all-in-one solution for customers
to plan journeys, book tickets
(without booking fees), receive
live travel updates, and access
essential information while on the
move.
The platform is set to enhance
CrossCountry’s digital services,
delivering an improved customer
experience across the operator’s
UK network. ACE’s intuitive
design and customer-focused
features will enable CrossCountry
passengers to bene昀椀t from
seamless ticketing and realtime travel updates, ensuring a
smoother and more convenient
journey.
The Arriva Customer Engine
(ACE) was selected amongst
22 competitors through the
Government’s Utilities Contract
Regulation (UCR) framework.
Mark Anderson, CrossCountry’s
Customer & Commercial Director,
said: “We are delighted to
partner with ACE to bring an
enhanced digital experience to our
customers – without the burden of
booking fees.”
“Investing in the latest
technology means we are making
it easier for passengers to plan
and book their journeys with
con昀椀dence, while also ensuring
they receive the most up-to-date
travel information.”
Neil Shah, IT & Digital Director
at Arriva UK Trains, said: “We
are delighted to be working with
CrossCountry and to bring our
market-leading platform to even
more customers. ACE will make
it cheaper and easier to purchase
tickets, improving the customer
experience and encouraging
more people to travel on public
transport.”
The new contract marks a
vital step in CrossCountry’s
commitment to improving
customer service through
innovation, o昀昀ering passengers
a more streamlined and e昀케cient
digital experience.
Spending Review: Plug £452 million bus pass
shortfall to boost economy and protect routes
Nearly half a billion pounds had
to be spent again by councils
last year to plug a shortfall in
funding for free bus passes, at
the expense of lower fares and
other transport services to help
more people into work and
boost growth, latest analysis
has revealed.
The Local Government
Association said an estimated
£452 million had to be used from
councils’ already overstretched
budgets last year to meet the cost
of the passes, which provides
older and disabled people with
free o昀昀-peak travel on all local bus
services.
Councils in England are
6
legally obligated to administer
the national scheme and are
responsible for reimbursing bus
operators for journeys made by
those with a pass.
The £452 million funding gap is
the di昀昀erence between the funding
councils receive from government
for the scheme, compared to the
actual number of journeys made in
2024/25.
Discretionary bus services
- such as free peak travel,
community transport services,
reduced fares and school
transport – have had to be scaled
back by local authorities across
the country for them to top up the
statutory national scheme from
their discretionary budgets.
The LGA, which represents
councils, is calling on government
to use the upcoming Spending
Review to provide long-term,
consistent funding for local bus
services and plug the gap in
the scheme, which could lead
to better bus services for all,
including free and discounted
fares for young people and other
groups.
It says better local public
transport can support the
Government to achieve economic
growth and opportunity, by
encouraging more people into
work, training or education,
especially those in the lowest
income groups who are least likely
to have access to a car.
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL WINTER 2024/2025
Streamlining existing, multiple
bus funding pots into a single fund
would also lead to more reliable
services and help to kickstart
growth, the LGA says.
The Government has recently
provided much needed extra
funding for the next year to protect
routes and keep fares down
including the £3 fare cap, which
the LGA says lays the foundations
to boost growth though long-term,
fully devolved funding for local
transport and highways in the
upcoming Spending Review, in line
with 昀椀ve-year funding settlements
for Network Rail, National
Highways and Metro Mayors.
