Smart ticketing remains gateway for multi-application mobile solutions
Last week’s OMNICARD in Berlin reminded us of just how important the public transportation segment remains when looking at the take up of multi application elements within a mobile wallet scenario. This particular conference, which has been running for over 20 years and has its roots in the secure ID world, looks across a whole range of security relevant market segments and at the larger picture of implementing citizen-based scenarios and interdependent systems.
Samsung re-iterated the idea of an interdependent system throughout their demonstrations and presentations by highlighting the benefits of the CIPURSE standard, which is being championed through the OSPT Alliance. Samsung, with their multi-application demo, was keen to remind everyone that the use of the SIM card in a mobile wallet scenario is still a very viable option. Their session, joined by T-Mobile, E Money Group and G&D tackled the SIM topic head on: “In 2014, contactless payment became a feature on mobile phones and the industry has been taken by surprise by new concepts which work without the security of a SIM card. The embedded secure element has found its way back into the world of NFC and for the time being, the SIM card seems to have fallen behind in the NFC payment function race. Or has it? Only NFC in collaboration with the SIM card can offer the ideal interface for secure, fast and easy processing of NFC-based payments and NFC-based valued added services (loyalty points, coupons) with transactions which can be conducted both online and offline.” The use of apps loaded on the SIM card by third parties and accessed through a single wallet system can still be an interesting value proposition - no matter how much spotlight has been stolen by those companies only pushing a simple payment solution scenario.
I do not think I am alone when I say that I believe it will be through public transportation projects that the foundation for mobile wallet multi-applications will bear fruit. After all, public transport contracts are usually led by central or regional governments and these government-led initiatives tend to result in a bedrock that others can build upon. And there are a lot of new public transport initiatives that appear to be gaining steam. Only last week we reported that Indra has signed a €266M contract to implement the entire ticketing and access control technology in the new public transportation system currently under construction in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. In Riyadh, Indra will develop the entire advanced pricing management system for the city’s public transportation network.
This includes a ticketing control center with information from the various systems, financial management software, the operator clearing house, and other value-added systems for commercial management. Indra will provide onboard ticket sale and validation systems for the entire public bus network, which will include around 800 to 1,000 vehicles; and the sale and access control systems for more than 80 stations in six subway lines (this network will total 175 kilometers and serve about six million users). Thanks to contactless technology, users will be able to access the entire public transportation system using only one card, which they can validate quickly and easily by placing it near the reader. This solution will also include one-way tickets with a bar code (similar to the tickets for the high-speed service in Spain) and a cell phone payment application that uses NFC (Near Field Communication). This will no doubt be the gateway for other companies to add on other applications into the system and ensure that they have a ready-made, and educated, user base.
Riyadh is not the only city looking for a smart ticketing solution that looks to contactless or mobile NFC for implementation. New York City’s Metro Transit Authority (MTA) is in discussions to replace its MetroCard payment system with a new US$450m system set to include support for NFC mobile payments and contactless cards. The plan calls for passengers to be able to pay by phone on buses and on the subway by 2020, and at vending machines in 2022.
If there has been one category that I am told has received an unprecedented amount of entries in this year’s Contactless and Mobile Awards, it would be Transportation. Already a popular category, this year we have doubled the amount of entries and if the amount of coverage that I see concerning the topic is anything to go by – then rightly so. After all, a smart ticketing solution (contactless card or mobile-based) for a public transportation company can have a major impact not just upon that corporation but the surrounding local economy and even the expanded region in general.
I believe that smart ticketing schemes have the potential to make individual cities’ transport networks simpler and more accessible, increase the number and length of journeys made by individuals, and boost efficiency and revenues for operators. Manchester and Sheffield’s respective devolution deals, which were agreed in 2014, include the opportunity to introduce smart ticketing systems, and similar schemes could be introduced as more cities agree new devolved powers. However, to be truly transformational for the wider country region as well as individual city regions, cities’ smart ticketing schemes should be designed to integrate with those of neighbouring cities in the future
Nathan Marsh, an infrastructure specialist who has helped to plan and deliver smart ticketing projects in major UK cities such as Manchester and Birmingham says “London saw a significant increase in distances travelled on public transport between 2000 and 2010, which was partly induced by the introduction of the Oyster card in 2003. Equally, the rapid take up of contactless Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) systems on bus and now underground rail networks shows that customers want a single, consistent experience across all modes of transport and boundaries. A similar initiative not just in individual cities but right across the entire North of England, coupled with the major transport infrastructure investment we’re likely to see over the coming years, could have a comparable impact – helping to connect an increasingly mobile workforce with businesses right across the North and contributing to economic growth.”
With time, these public transportation systems - if interlinked and following the same standard – could pave the way for countrywide adoption of mobile value added apps as well as ticketing and payment. After that happens, pilot programs that some cities are working through at the moment (think Norwich with their LOKA app) make a lot of sense and the idea of a connected digital high-street, city to city, could also one day be a reality.
Until next week.
Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence
