12: Lunch with Leon episode 12 - John Clarfelt

Published: Sept. 5, 2020, 1:15 p.m.

Barrister, butcher and now busman: John Clarfelt has revolutionised on-bus payments with his start-up Ticketer which now has 25,000 on-bus electronic ticket machines (ETMs) in the UK.
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\n\n\nHaving qualified as a barrister and also been a butcher, Ticketer is his third venture.
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\n\n\nOver Lunch with Leon Daniels, he chats about how cashless payments have changed society and what the possibility is for charging passengers after a journey is made, to get them the very best fare.
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\n\n\nThey talk about the relationship of trust between operators and passengers and what more can be done by using data.
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\n\n\n\u201cThe UK is very far advanced in terms of ETMs,\u201d he says adding that public transport should be \u201cenjoyable to travel on and efficient to operate.\u201d
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\n\n\nThey mull over the possibilities for variable pricing on public transport according to demand, how to take fares without intervention (i.e. the passenger simply walks on and off , never touching in or out or buying a ticket) using facial recognition and how data about passenger loadings could improve vehicle utilisation.
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\n\n\nGiven how much Ticketer has changed the face of transport ticketing already, and the enthusiasm of enlightened operators, their discussions about the future might become reality sooner than we think\u2026
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