The New South Wales Government has terminated the Tcard contract with Integrated Ticketing Solutions Limited (ITSL), a subsidiary of ERG,
The New South Wales Government has terminated the Tcard contract with Integrated Ticketing Solutions Limited (ITSL), a subsidiary of ERG, the company chosen to develop a fully-integrated ticketing system for Sydney’s public transport.
NSW Minister for Transport, John Watkins, says Integrated ITSL failed to deliver the system it had promised in 2003.
Last year the company claimed the system would be ready for a joint public trial on trains and buses by mid-2008 with full system operation available in 2009.
ITSL then sought another revised completion date of February 2010 back in November, which would have been almost three years past the original completion date.
Watkins says scrapping the contract will allow the Government to begin the search for a new cashless ticketing system for Sydney.
He also claims there are grounds for a damages claim for the money already spent on the project.
“We’ve seized $10 million [in] performance bonds given by the company at the beginning of the project,” he says.
“The Government has strong legal advice that we will be able to pursue taxpayer costs associated with the project up to $95 million.”
Companies that have indicated they are interested in taking over from ERG are Cabcharge and french firm, Thales.