GABS revolutionises its ticketing strategy

Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS), the principal bus operator in Western Cape, has selected Parkeon on-bus and back-office technology to help deliver its future ticketing strategy.

The deal includes 1 250 Wayfarer200 driver consoles, 62 fixed and mobile point-of-sale units, depot cashier and driver-dispatching devices, and an integrated back-office, depot-management and administrative software solution.

“The South African government has a vision to make public transport the heartbeat of the country’s economic growth and social development,” says Bronwen Dyke-Beyer, public relations manager at Golden Arrow Bus Services.

“Our investment in robust and advanced technology developed by Parkeon will help us deliver that vision for the people of Cape Town through current and future ticketing products.”

As part of the project, Parkeon will provide contactless smartcard technology to replace the current “Clip Card” single and multi-journey products at GABS points-of-sale. These will be validated via the Wayfarer200 console and viewable on a Parkeon inspection app.

A web-based back office will manage on-bus and fixed-location transactions, with a software suite providing a range of management reports.  

“The Parkeon-Wayfarer product brand is well established in South Africa, and is built on a relationship with the country’s public-transport sector that goes back over 30 years,” says Owen Griffith, MD of Parkeon Transportation.

“We are delighted that Golden Arrow Bus Services has chosen us as its partner and look forward to working closely with the company to ensure it reaps the full benefits that the new technology will bring.”

GABS has run scheduled bus services in Cape Town for more than 150 years, and today provides around 52 million passenger journeys annually across 1 300 routes. In 2015, it became the largest bus operator in South Africa to achieve prestigious Road Transport Management System (RTMS) accreditation.