TMR is responsible for the delivery of some passenger transport services for the State of Queensland through service contracts with bus, train, ferry and taxi operators. In South East Queensland (SEQ), the TransLink division of TMR is also responsible for the operation of an integrated fare system for passenger transport using travel cards and readers delivered by Cubic in 2003.

This integrated fare system is to be upgraded over the next four years with a new payment system known as the Next Generation Ticketing (NGT) Solution (NGTS) or “Smart Ticketing”. Existing travel cards and paper tickets will continue to be accepted, supplemented with:

• new ways to pay, including contactless debit and credit cards, smartphones and wearable devices such as smart watches;
• an upgrade to the existing ticketing equipment;
• an enhanced website and mobile app for account management; and
• an expansion across all south east Queensland and some regional public transport networks.

In April 2018 Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) Australia were successful in their bid to provide the NGTS under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) contract over 17 years following a lengthy procurement process. The NGTS is being rolled out successively over four phases commencing with a limited EuroPay-Mastercard-Visa (EMV) trial on Gold Coast Light Rail followed by extension to all Heavy Rail, then Bus and Ferry operations including regional operators, and culminating with account-based functionality to enable multi-modal integration and facilitate expansion for additional merchants and services.

In March 2018 TMR commenced a tender process to engage an Independent Certifier (IC) to oversee the project activities, and in October 2018 awarded the contract to CICA Group. The IC Services spans design and build phases, through test and acceptance and into operations.

The Brisbane-based Cica Group team works closely with TMR to review an extensive range of project deliverables including design, delivery and operational Data Items. The IC Services also include attendance at all Formal Reviews such as System Requirements Reviews, Design Reviews and Test Readiness Reviews, and witnessing of informal and formal Test and Acceptance activities. All aspects of the Systems engineering being used to deliver the project are covered, as well as the project management and transition activities across all four phases as well as KPI verification in the initial 12 months of operations.