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What does ITSO stand for?
The name ITSO is not an abbreviation and does not stand for anything. To be precise, ITSO stands for ITSO. You can look at it the same way as at Visa card: Visa doesn't mean "visa"; it is a brand and the name of the card. Initially the organisation was called Integrated Transport Smartcards Organisation, and that is where ITSO came from. Some 2 years ago the definition was abandoned, as the scope of activity had outgrown just transport, and the smartcard has been replaced with Customer Media, as the media may be embedded into key-fobs, phones and still work just like a smart card. And now ITSO is just ITSO.
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What is 'ITSO' and what does it do?
ITSO is a Member controlled organisation that maintains the ITSO Specification for Members and the Crown. The Membership of ITSO is broadly based and includes PTE's, Local Authorities, Passenger Transport Operators and Suppliers of equipment, systems and services. More information can be found at www.itso.org.uk. The ITSO specification is an open standard intended to allow interoperability across England.
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What does the ITSO specification cover?
The specification for interoperable contactless smartcards that ITSO has developed covers the entire system - smartcard, point-of-sale/service, back office, data formats, data transfer, and security architecture.
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How many current ITSO schemes are there?
The following Concessionary Travel Schemes are rolling out ITSO: Scottish National Entitlement, Welsh Assembly Government, Merseytravel ITA, Greater Manchester ITA, CENTRO ITA, NoWcard, Yorcard, Nottinghamshire County Council, Cheshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Kent & Medway County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Northamptonshire County Council.
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What does ISL do?
ISL is the ITSO licenced operator for the remaining 262 TCAs across England who are not as yet in a position to independently function as an ITSO scheme (this figure includes the addition of 33 London Boroughs under London Councils). This means that ISL can register products on behalf of its TCAs, as well as provide back office facilities in the form of the ISL HOPS and ISAMs to a TCA's card supplier.
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What is the difference between ISL and ITSO?
Whereas ITSO is an organisation that provides the specification for smart cards, ISL adheres to the ITSO specification as a licenced operator. This puts its position on a par with other smart TCAs who act as ITSO licenced operators.
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If we decide to produce the passes in house, can we still use ITSO Services? If so, what happens regarding the issuing of ISAMS?
Yes you can. There are two ways in which ISAMS can be installed into your in house equipment: we recommend that you ask your card supplier to install ISAMS onto your in house equipment before it is delivered to you; the alternative is to install the ISAMS onto your in house equipment personally, which may require a technical assistant to complete the procedure of attaching the ISAM, and making sure that it is functioning.
It is down to the TCA to decide on who they choose to buy their in house equipment; this can be done from either the DfT Framework Agreement or from outside the framework. This is purely the choice of the TCA.
ITSO Services will require information on how many printers you will be operating as this can dictate how many ISAMs ITSO Services will need to supply to you. TCAs will need to apply for a Secure Sockets Licence (SSL) from gary.watts@card.co.uk; this has an associated annual cost of £200. ITSO Services will also require an estimate of the number of cards that the TCA will be producing annually in order to create a sufficient card number range unique to the TCA.
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If we want to produce passes in house, what should we do to make sure that the equipment we buy has the correct ITSO certification?
It is vitally important that all equipment used for in-house production is ITSO certified, otherwise any cards that are produced will not be ITSO compliant. With this mind, always stipulate for ITSO certification when tendering for any in-house production equipment. ITSO can provide further details on who is ITSO certified, if you are unsure about your suppliers' credentials please contact either ITSO or ITSO Services for information.
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If we produce our passes in house, is there a pass verification service we can use?
ITSO operates a pass validation service, however it should be noted that this is not intended to remove the responsibility of the pass provider. Further information on the service can be found at www.itso.org.uk/validation.asp, or alternatively by email: validation@itso.org.uk.
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If we go smart, do we have to replace our ISAMs? Can we still get ISAMs from ISL?
When a TCA migrates away from ISL into ITSO they will have to replace all of their ISAMs. The TCA / scheme will have to apply to ITSO for a new Shell OID and also to procure ISAMs. ISL will not supply ISAMs to smart schemes
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Is the government going to mandate smartcard readers on to buses?
There are no plans to mandate bus operators or local authorities to install smartcard readers on buses. However, there are substantial advantages to bus operators going 'smart', such as reduced fraud and better data handling capabilities will help to improve reimbursement arrangements.
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An ISAM has either been lost or has been damaged, what do we do next?
In order to replace a defunct ISAM, ACT will need to install and profile a brand new blank ISAM as a replacement. This would typically take five working days. In the case of TCA's who are printing in-house, they would need to speak to their supplier for installation guidelines.
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What is the difference between the approval of cards and the certification of cards?
Approval involves the ITSO Certification & Test Service adding a sample ITSO shell and product (normally IPE TYP2 STR) to the blank customer media submitted by a supplier for testing, and then validating that the Shell has been successfully loaded, using the ITSO Test Tool. Certification takes this a number of steps further: the blank media is tested both for loading and reading / deleting the ITSO Shell and all relevant IPEs, and using all the relevant POSTs in the Interoperability Warehouse. ITSO Licensed Operators are required by their License only to issue ITSO Certified Media. ITSO Approved Media must have successfully completed Certification before being issued by ITSO Licensed Operators.
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Can ISL provide an estimate the cost for setting up our own HOPS service?
Unfortunately we cannot, this is because a HOPS can be provided as licensed or a managed service. To procure your own HOPS system, you would need to go to the market to get details; you can view current suppliers who have already attained a Certificate to provide HOPS from www.itso.org.uk (ITSO Certificates). Please be aware however, that there are other suppliers whose HOPS are being tested but who have not as of yet been awarded a Certificate. These names cannot be disclosed until accreditation is achieved.
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What should I do if I have not received my data from my Bureau Card Supplier?
You will need to chase them on a regular basis. Please contact ITSO Services if you are having any problems with this or need assistance.
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What information do I need to send for Stoplisting and where can I find a copy of the stoplisting template?
You will need to complete the template which can be located on the ITSO Services website under the stop listing sub heading. You should send your completed templates to stoplisting@itsoservices.org.uk
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When do you require stoplisting details to be submitted?
The form needs to be submitted every Friday.
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When will concessionary cards become compatible with Oyster?
ITSO, DfT and Oyster continue to work together to achieve successful ITSO / Oyster interoperability. London passes will need to comply with the same regulations as the rest of England from 2010.