Mobile phones could be used to pay for train and bus journeys across the UK

Transport operators have been summoned to a Whitehall summit next month to push ahead with an initiative known as “smart ticketing”, which could revolutionise how passengers pay for their journeys. Ultimately it could mean the days of the conventional paper ticket are numbered as train and bus operators agree a standard which would apply across the whole country. The Government has said that all companies will eventually be expected to comply with a common industry standard known as ITSO – standing for Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation.