On 4 January 2017, a letter of intent was signed, the signatories of which declared their will to implement in the area of the Pomeranian Voivodeship a common system for all transport organisers, operators and carriers to collect fares for public transport and uniform passenger information.
At the same time, they confirmed that they would seek to obtain co-financing for the implementation of the scheme from European Union support and other foreign funds. Thus, the partners of the programme became:
- Pomeranian Voivodship
- Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area
- City of Gdansk
- City of Gdynia
- City of Sopot
- City of Wejherowo
- City of Tczew
- City of Kwidzyn
- City of Lebork
- City of Malbork
- City of Starogard Gdański
- City of Slupsk
- City of Chojnice
- City of Ustka
- Municipality of Sztutowo
- District of Nowy Dwór
- Metropolitan Transport Union of the Gulf of Gdansk
- PKP Rapid Urban Rail in Tri-city
- Regional Transport
- Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Gdańsk
- Pomeranian Association of Railway Lovers
Below you will find the full text of the Letter of Intent
Letter of intent
Concluded on 04 January 2017 in Gdańsk between the Partners of the Programme "Implementation in the area of the Pomeranian Voivodeship common for all transport organisers, operators and carriers - the system of collecting fees for transport in collective transport and uniform passenger information", hereinafter referred to as the Programme.
Program Partners:
- Pomeranian Voivodship
- Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area
- City of Gdansk City of Gdynia City of Sopot
- City of Wejherowo
- City of Tczew
- Metropolitan Transport Union of the Gulf of Gdansk
- City of Starogard Gdański
- City of Slupsk
- City of Chojnice
- City of Ustka
- PKP Rapid Urban Rail in Tri-city hereinafter referred to as PKP SKM
- Regional Transport
and the other undersigned.
Preamble
Public collective transport constitutes one of the basic pillars supporting sustainable development of the region, significantly influencing the level of socio-economic activity of its inhabitants. Full exploitation of the potential of this service sector requires, on the one hand, full information on the timetables of individual carriers and, on the other hand, appropriate and fast reaction of the organisers and carriers to the changing demand situation.
The main objective of the contracting parties is to increase the share of public collective transport in the total number of journeys made by inhabitants thanks to the creation of a system of passenger information and transport fare collection integrating individual transport subsystems managed by organisers of all levels (voivodship, poviats and communes). The above solution will provide passengers with the possibility of making journeys on the basis of a uniform, integrated electronic ticket - on the routes and with the use of means of transport of any carriers that will join the system. In implementing the "System" Programme, the Parties to the Letter will take into account the activities undertaken so far by the Gdańsk Bay Metropolitan Transport Association and local governments associated in the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area, as well as public transport organisers in the area of Pomorskie Voivodeship.
§ 1
1. The Parties to this Letter of Intent express their willingness to implement in the Pomorskie Voivodeship a common system for all transport organisers, operators and carriers, for collecting fares for public transport and uniform passenger information (hereinafter referred to as the System).
2. The Parties will seek to obtain co-financing for the implementation of the Scheme from European Union support and other foreign funds.
3. The signatories of the Letter of Intent undertake to provide the Voivodeship with data necessary to develop the Preliminary Feasibility Study, unless they constitute a trade secret within the meaning of the Act of 16 April 1993 on combating unfair competition or are not subject to disclosure under other regulations.
4. The Pomorskie Voivodeship undertakes to coordinate the activities necessary to implement the Programme by:
a. identification of the organisational unit within the Marshal's Office responsible for the coordination of work under the Programme,
b. preparation of the Preliminary Feasibility Study of the Programme (analysis of organisational and technical options of the System),
c. carry out technical and organisational arrangements of the Scheme options with the Letter Parties and other potential stakeholders in the Scheme.
d. agreeing with Programme Partners on the basic functional-utility assumptions of the System
5. PKP SKM reserves the right to withdraw from participation in the Programme in case its assumptions interfere with the project of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction called "Wspólny Bilet".
§ 2
The parties to this Letter of Agreement shall immediately establish a Steering Committee for the "Scheme" Programme, composed of representatives:
a) Pomeranian Voivodship
b) OM GGS;
c) MZKZG;
d) City of Gdańsk
e) City of Gdynia;
f) City of Sopot
g) City of Tczew
h) City of Wejherowo
i) City of Slupsk
j) City of Starogard Gdański
2. The parties to this Letter of Transmittal may nominate experts to participate directly in the review of the studies prepared and in the process of recommending a variant of the Scheme.
3. The Steering Committee of the Programme shall recommend to the parties of the Letter of Intent the optimum variant for the organisational, functional and technological implementation of the Programme.
4. The Steering Committee of the "System" Programme will make every effort to immediately make the necessary changes to the Project Card of the "e-ticket" Project, included in the Integrated Territorial Investments Strategy, and constituting a component of the "System" Programme, thus enabling a quick identification of the "e-ticket" Project on the list of projects of the ROP HRD.
§ 3
The Parties to this Letter, having selected the optimum variant for implementation of the "System" Program and having obtained the consent of their statutory bodies, if required, due to the content of the System Implementation Agreement, declare to conclude a System Implementation Agreement, regulating in detail the principles:
a. the organisation of the functioning of the "System",
b. to contribute to implementation and exploitation costs.
§ 4
The Letter Parties agree that the key functionalities of the System from the point of view of organisers and carriers should be
a. the ability to keep accurate, real-time accounts of fare revenue between ticket issuers;
b. possibility to apply differentiated tariffs of individual Partners in their areas of jurisdiction, taking into account any trade and statutory discounts;
c. obtaining data necessary to conduct rational transport and tariff policy and create timetables - e.g. on the current location of vehicles and occurring passenger flows,
d. the possibility of budget subsidies for discounted tickets, where legally possible,
e. the maximum possible use of the already existing information systems of organisers and operators and the experience of MZKZG,
f. to comply with applicable legal and tax requirements regarding the documentation of sales and to be able to collect data necessary for the correct settlement of tax charges,
g. providing the tools necessary for ticket control.
§ 5
The Letter Parties acknowledge that the key functionalities of the System, from the point of view of passengers, should be:
a. The ability to pay for a journey by credit card or online transfer from a stationary or mobile device via a dedicated application;
b. the possibility of paying for the journey with a Mifare card (dedicated to transport);
c. possibility to make payments automatically - using a mobile device with a dedicated application;
d. possibility of cash payment - at dedicated vending machines on platforms and integration hubs and on-board the driver/trainmaster;
e. A passenger information module and a planner allowing for journey planning and fare optimisation;
§ 6
The system should be open to the accession of further organisers or operators and to the exchange of data and financial accounts with the national central systems and in neighbouring countries.
§ 7
1. The signatories of the Letter of Agreement acknowledge that the Letter of Agreement has an open formula, i.e. they agree to later extend the "System" Programme partnership also to other entities, which will declare their willingness to cooperate in the implementation of the Programme by signing the Declaration of Accession.
2. A specimen of the Declaration referred to in paragraph 1 is annexed to this Letter.
§ 8
All amendments to the Letter of Intent must be made in writing otherwise they are null and void.
§ 9
The provisions of this Letter of Intent shall enter into force on the date of its signature by the Parties and shall not create any obligations for the Parties. In particular, this Letter of Intent does not constitute the basis for their financial obligations and claims for the conclusion of the agreement mentioned in § 3.