JOURNEYCALL, a service centre that provides customer service support and smartcard services for the UK transport industry from its Arbroath office, has won three contract extensions with Transport for London (TfL).

The extensions will see the company – which is part of the ESP Group – manage customer service handling for Oyster cards, Santander Cycle Hire and correspondence for people travelling in London.

The three contracts experience an average of four million contact requests annually across a range of contact channels including telephone and social media and ESP has opened new premises in Hull to service the contract.

ESP Group chief executive Theresa Slevin said: “We’re thrilled to be continuing to work with TfL on these three contracts and are very proud to have partnered with them for over 16 years. TfL is one of our key clients and we have more than 100 employees dedicated specifically to work on the account.

“This will be the first time that we have people working on TfL across our sites in England and Scotland.”  Fola Olafare, customer service delivery manager at TfL, added: “The customer is at the heart of everything we do, so we are delighted to continue working with Journeycall to provide the high-quality service our customers expect from TfL.”  As the pandemic started, Journeycall was immediately granted key worker status and quickly shifted its 200-strong team to homeworking, while setting up three additional emergency lines to support key workers’ travel requirements.

Journeycall provides customer services and technology-led solutions focused on mass public transport systems such as rail and bus, and operates the largest transport contact centre in the UK.

The Scottish business provides smart card technology and customer support for Network Rail, Translink, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains among others.

In April this year, the ESP Group opened new premises in Hull to service a new £3.8m Journeycall contract with Network Rail, as well as the Systex part of the business. These contract extensions will see TfL workstreams going live in Hull for the first time, providing opportunities for the business in England and providing business continuity across the two sites.

Slevin added: “We pride ourselves on our customer relationship management services, and this long-lasting partnership on such a high-profile contract is testament to this.

“We’re committed to ensuring that every contact we have with passengers and customers provides a positive experience, and our highly skilled teams have a proven ability to effectively and efficiently manage a full spectrum of inbound and outbound customer interactions.

“We look forward to continuing to help thousands of travellers move around London every day.”