Passenger to deliver app for next generation of Fastrack

Passenger is delighted to announce its involvement in the next generation of the Kent Fastrack service, with a new app launching in November 2024.

Go-Ahead Group won a 15-year contract with Kent County Council (KCC) to run Fastrack, the bus rapid transit network on Thameside, twelve months ago. Go-Ahead London will deliver the new service using battery electric vehicles with opportunity charging via an inverted pantograph.

According to Shane Hymers, KCC’s Fastrack Development Manager, “Fastrack is the jewel in the crown of Kent’s bus network, and our intention with this new contract was always to achieve the best possible outcome for our users.”

The new purpose-built Fastrack app will be available at launch. Building on Go-Ahead’s long-term partnership with Passenger, it will improve customers’ access to ticketing and real-time vehicle tracking on the new all-electric Fastrack routes.

Passenger’s Commercial Team supported Go-Ahead Group’s Fastrack bid in 2023, providing expert guidance on the digital customer experience requirements of the ITT.

“Congratulations to Go-Ahead on the Fastrack contract win. We were delighted to support the bid last year and to play our part in the subsequent mobilisation. Go-Ahead knows our products and our approach and that Passenger is a delivery partner on which it can depend. Our Commercial Team provides expert guidance in tender responses, helping partners to put together the highest quality bid”, comments Chris Desborough, Business Development Manager at Passenger.

The award represents further success for Go-Ahead in the contracted market and it follows Go North West’s success in securing both large franchises awarded as part of the first round of bus re-regulation in Greater Manchester.

Graham Pether, Bus Data Systems Manager and ITS lead on Go-Ahead London’s Fastrack bid comments, “The team at Passenger provided us with a precise analysis of KCC’s requirements, ensuring we could accurately demonstrate our compliance and cost within short timelines, which is always a substantial challenge with tender activity. Passenger’s cost calculations landed precisely where we needed them to be in the tender, and have been matched to the penny now we are proceeding with development, giving both KCC and Go-Ahead assurance of good cost governance.”

“Having a partner you can rely on to put together the best bid possible is vital to our growth objectives at Go-Ahead. It’s a pleasure to continue working with Tom and the whole Passenger team to bring a high quality customer experience to bus users on Thameside.”