Issue Date: 13 May 2008

Payne Security, in partnership with Burall InfoSmart, has produced the new English National Concessionary Travel (ENCT) passes for over twenty Transport Coordinating Authorities (TCAs) in England after significant investment in additional card production equipment and capability, which enabled it to swiftly and effectively deliver the ready-to-use cards directly to the recipient.

Introduced from 1st April 2008, the ENCT Scheme offers all people aged 60 and over, and disabled people, free off-peak travel on local bus services throughout England after 9.30 in the morning.  To support the scheme, and to ensure a workable solution nationwide, a new national smart card pass has been issued to all entitled users.  This card conforms to the ITSO card encoding format which utilises smart card technology to provide details of the user and confirm entitlement to the ENCT Scheme.

Payne Security, in partnership with Burall InfoSmart, is now fully certified to ITSO standard v. 2.1.2, to personalise and encode ITSO-compliant smart cards for all TCAs in England.

Burall InfoSmart’s ITSO-compliant Perso-POST software has been coupled with Payne Security’s high-volume, sheet form, digital personalisation, which prints thousands of ITSO compliant contactless smart cards an hour – as opposed to the hundreds achieved by traditional desk-top technology.  In addition, the personalised layer is laminated inside the card for durability. 

Payne Security invested significantly in additional card production equipment, including digital print, lamination and a fully-automated card fulfilment line in order to swiftly and effectively deliver ready-to-use cards directly to the recipient. 

Watford Borough Council became one of the first TCAs in the country to recognise the benefits of Payne Security’s convenient and cost effective solution.  The Council placed an initial order for 10,000 cards to meet immediate demand from April 2008; with further orders to follow as Watford residents become eligible for the ENCT card.

“We chose Payne Security to produce our cards based on price, quality and the personal customer service they offer. Deadlines have been met and queries dealt with swiftly, ensuring the successful implementation of the National Concessionary Bus Pass to Watford Borough Council residents,” commented Pauline Pownceby, Transport & Projects Officer.

Payne Security believes that its capabilities can help many other TCAs, particularly those continuing to meet demand since the ENCT Scheme came into effect in April.   “We believe the transport card industry deserves the benefits offered by volume digital production. This provides high quality, quick and cost effective card issuance and we have invested in this technology to bring these benefits directly to our customers,” explains David Hayward, General Operations Manager at Payne Security’s card manufacturing facility.