Electronic Ticketing for Stagecoach UK Bus - Case Study Example

Electronic Ticketing (E-Ticketing) for Stagecoach UK Bus Introduction Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background on Stagecoach’s E-Tickets 3 Analysis 4 Recommendations and Conclusions 7 References 9 Appendix: Overview of Stagecoach UK Bus 12 Electronic Ticketing (E-Ticketing) for Stagecoach UK Bus Introduction E-commerce, the activity of trading in goods and services over the Internet, has revolutionized the way British and other companies around the world do business and interact with their customers (Frieden & Roche, 2006). In 2010, the UK boast the largest e-commerce industry in the world, measured by per capita expenditure (Robinson, 2010). Then, British the e-commerce industry was valued at 100 billion pounds, 7% more than the national income (Office for National Statistics, 2014). Bus companies, including Stagecoach UK Bus were not left behind by the e-commerce revolution. Stagecoach UK Bus is a member of the Stagecoach Group, a multinational corporation with interests in bus and rail transport and operating in the Europe and North America, and one of the leading bus operators in the UK (the appendix provides background information on the company). This report examines the less than satisfactory foray of Stagecoach into the e-commerce market. Background on Stagecoach’s E-Tickets E-commerce takes many forms, including electronic ticketing. In May 2012, Stagecoach introduced e-ticketing where passengers were able to use their smartphones, instead of paper tickets, to board buses and trains (Dalton, 2012). The launch was on a trial basis and involved 40 bus passengers. The new service marked a break with the existing technology then – travel smartcards that had be reloaded at a vending machine. Stagecoach provided the 40 passengers with smartphones using the latest mobile technology. All a passenger needed to do was wave their smartphone at a sensor as they board the bus. The experiment was carried out the company’s Cambridgeshire regional office. It was to be rolled out, if successful, in other regional offices and introduced on trains. Stagecoach has since made it possible for its customer to buy travel tickets from the company’s website (Stagecoach, 2012). E-tickets are in line with Stagecoach Group’s sustainability strategy for 2015-2019. The Group recognizes that by virtue of their nature, their businesses contribute environmental pollution and believes in environmental stewardship. However, the uptake of e-tickets has not been satisfactory (Stagecoach Group, 2015). The slow uptake of e-tickets is not unique to Stagecoach Bus: it is an industry-wide problem. Like all other forms of e-commerce, the biggest customer concern about e-ticketing is the safety (House , et al., 2015)and privacy of the personal information they share with bus companies (ITSO, 2014). In an effort to bolster the uptake of e-tickets, Stagecoach has enrolled into the Ice loyalty programme (Stagecoach Group, 2015). The initiative is a high-profile customer loyalty scheme that rewards customer with loyalty points for embracing green products. Stagecoach bus customers who buy their tickets online are automatically enrolled into the loyalty program and receive points. The points are redeemable at the outlets of other participating partners. Similarly, customers who buy products from other Ice partners may obtain their e-tickets at a discounted rate. While Stagecoach’s measure is commendable, much more needs to be done to popularize the company’s e-tickets. Analysis As noted above, data integrity and security are the main bottlenecks to e-ticketing as well as other forms of e-commerce (Humeau & Jung, 2013). In this section, Stagecoach’s efforts to secure its customers’ data and uphold the integrity of the data are analyzed. The analysis is based on the PAPA framework. The PAPA model is a framework developed by Mason in 1986 for addressing ethical issues in information systems, an integral part of e-commerce (PAPA is an acronym for privacy, accuracy, property and access). Though developed at a time when e-commerce was only a nascent technology (Graham, 2008), Masons model remains relevant today. Today, in the face of growing cybercrime, security must be added to Mason’s list (Woodward, et al., 2010). Arguably, of the five principles, privacy, security and accuracy or integrity are the more pertinent as far as e-ticketing is concerned (Parrish, 2010). The ethical issue of privacy in computing refers to the ability of other people to access a person’s personal information over computer networks. A 2009 study revealed that 13% of Internet users were concerned about their privacy (Ofcom, 2010). About one-third reported that they did not mind giving their personal information such phone number and home address online. The UK Data Protection Act of 1998 seeks to protect the privacy of Britons on the Internet (Rigby, 2014). Moreover, Stagecoach Bus has a privacy policy in place. The policy declares that the company collects and maintains personal data only for the purposes of ticketing and that the company does not share its customers’ information with third parties unless it has express permission from a customer or is required by law to do so (Stagecoach UK Bus, n.d.). There being no reported cases of breach of this policy statement, it would be safe to conclude that Stagecoach UK Bus is serious about the privacy of its customers. E-ticketing, like other forms of e-commerce, necessitates the making of payments via the Internet. There are many sites today that provide online payment services. Stagecoach UK Bus’ online payment are handled by WorldPay. Stagecoach UK Bus has two payment modes: standard and recurring (Stagecoach UK Bus, n.d.). Standard payments are deducted from a customer’s debit or credit card at the time of buying a ticket. In the recurring payment plan, money is deducted from the customer’s card on a regular basis, as per the agreement. In 2013, a total of 520 billion pounds was spent via debit and credit cards in the UK, an increase of 6.7% from 2012. In all, 10.7 billion online transactions were made that year. In the same year, UK cardholders lost a total of 450.4 million pounds to Internet payment fraud (Financial Fraud Action UK, 2015). This figure represented a 16% increase from the previous year. The upward trend is attributed to deception and the use of Internet attacks in the form of malware and data hacking. The industry has responded by redoubling its efforts to encourage online shoppers and businesses to deploy security software. Often, the software is available freely from a customer’s bank. Stagecoach UK Bus describes their payments service provider as secure (Stagecoach Group, 2013). WorldPay has a security policy that is accessible from its partner (Stagecoach UK Bus, n.d.). Whereas there is a lot of information online, including on online shopping sites, the accuracy of the information is rarely guaranteed (Altschuller, 2004). Stagecoach claims to make every effort to ensure, the currency, accuracy and completeness of all information published on its website (Stagecoach, n.d.). However, the company is categorical that it does not guarantee the completeness, reliability or accuracy of such information and that the information may change without notice to the customer. As a result, neither the company nor the Group can be held accountable for any loss occasioned by the use of the information posted on their website. In addition, no guarantee is given that the website will be free from errors. This situation is unfortunate. If the company cannot guarantee the accuracy of information about itself that it has published on its website, one wonders how much less so for third parties like WorldPay, the site that handles the company’s payments for e-tickets. By ‘property” Mason meant the ownership of information in information systems. The entire contents of Stagecoach’s website belong to Stagecoach Group Plc and its affiliates or licensed third parties (Stagecoach, n.d.). International and local copyright laws protect those contents. Tickets issued to customers remain Stagecoach UK Bus’ property and must be produced on demand (Stagecoach UK Bus, n.d.). Recommendations and Conclusions In order to encourage more of its customers to embrace e-tickets, Stagecoach UK Bus should address three areas: privacy, security and accuracy of information. On privacy, the companys privacy policy is a good starting point. It assures the customer that the personal information they share with the company will be shared with no one else unless authorized by the customer or demanded by law. However, it is one thing to make the promise and quite another to keep it. Therefore, the company should educate its employees especially those in the IT department on the importance of not sharing divulging customers’ personal information and the consequences of doing so. In addition, the company should seek to comply with personal information online code of practice published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (Information Commissioners Office (ICO), 2011) and use it as a marketing tool. On the security of the payment system, Stagecoach should encourage its payments handler, WorlPay, to invest in the latest security software available. In fact, if the service provider is uncooperative, Stagecoach could make the installation of such software a precondition for the renewal of WorldPay’s contract. Then, the two should jointly launch a campaign to sensitize Stagecoach’s on the need to install robust anti-fraud software. On the accuracy of information, besides making every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it posts on its website, Stagecoach should shoulder part of the losses that may arise out of the use of such information. Otherwise, the status quo is unfair. Were it the case, that Stagecoach’s customers sourced information about the company and its services from a third party, then maybe the company would be justified to completely absolve itself from resultant losses. It instructive that the recommendations made here be pursued alongside other efforts such as marketing. References Altschuller, S., 2004. DEVELOPING AN IT VIEW-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR IS ETHICS RESEARCH, New York: City University of New York. Dalton, A., 2012. Death of the bus ticket as Stagecoach passengers to pay by smartphone. [Online] Available at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/death-of-the-bus-ticket-as-stagecoach-passengers-to-pay-by-smartphone-1-2317016 [Accessed 30 March 2015]. Financial Fraud Action UK, 2015. Fraud the Facts 2014, London: Financial Fraud Action UK. Frieden, J. & Roche, S. P., 2006. E-Commerce: Legal Issues of the Online Retailer in Virginia. Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, 13(2), pp. 1-40. Graham, M., 2008. Warped Geographies of Development: The Internet and Theories of Economic Development. Geography Compass, 2(3), pp. 771-789. House, B., Lane, B. & Notts, N., 2015. Online Retailing: Britain, Europe, US and Canada 2015, Paris: Centre for Retail Research. Humeau, P. & Jung, M., 2013. Benchmark of e-Commerce solutions, Paris: NBS System. Information Commissioners Office (ICO), 2011. Personal information online code of practice. London: Information Commissioners Office (ICO). ITSO, 2014. ITSO Update, London: ITSO. Ofcom, 2010. Online trust and privacy: Peoples attitudes and behavior, London: Ofcom. Office for National Statistics, 2014. Monitoring e-commerce, 2014, London: Office for National Statistics. Parrish, J., 2010. PAPA knows best: Principles for the ethical sharing of information on social networking sites. Ethics and Information Technology, 12(2), pp. 187-193. Rigby, C., 2014. UK shoppers spent £91bn online in 2013 – and look set to spend £107bn in 2014. [Online] Available at: http://internetretailing.net/2014/01/uk-shoppers-spent-91bn-online-in-2013-and-look-set-to-spent-107bn-in-2014/ [Accessed 30 March 2015]. Robinson, J., 2010. UKs internet industry worth £100bn - report. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/oct/28/net-worth-100bn-uk [Accessed 29 March 2015]. Stagecoach, 2012. Making Your Journey. London: Stagecoach. Stagecoach Group, 2013. TRANSPORT INNOVATION FACTSHEET, London: Stagecoach Group. Stagecoach Group, 2015. Shared responsibility, shared future: Our Sustainability Strategy, London: Stagecoach Group. Stagecoach, n.d. Legal Information. [Online] Available at: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/legalinfo.aspx [Accessed 30 March 2015]. Stagecoach UK Bus, n.d. Stagecoach UK Bus online sales Terms and Conditions. [Online] Available at: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/buyonline.aspx?accept=perm [Accessed 30 March 2015]. Woodward, B., Martin, N. & Imboden, N., 2010. Expansion and Validation of the PAPA Framework. Nashville, Information Systems Educators Conference. Appendix: Overview of Stagecoach UK Bus The Stagecoach Group’s UK Bus Division comprises Stagecoach London and regional operations(Stagecoach Group , 2014). The division operates in over one hundred towns and cities. Each regional operating unit is headed by a managing director and is independent of Stagecoach London. Besides operating in the towns and cities, each regional unit provides an interurban service that links the major urban centres. Megabus.com is the Stagecoach’s low-end interurban service. To a lesser degree, Megabus.com also operates in continental Europe. In Scotland, Stagecoach under the name Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited, a joint venture with ComfortDelGo, a transport multinational corporation. The joint venture is the leading player in the Scottish bus market. Read More