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The Convergence of Ticketing and Payments |
NEWS |
Mobile ticketing is often referred to as an emerging market due to the significant growth opportunities for mobile ticketing solutions therein. However, the fact remains that mobile ticketing solutions, be they full-scale operations or pilot, have been in commercial use for more than 10 years, including Japan’s well-established FeliCa protocol; open-loop mobile acceptance in Amsterdam, London, Delhi, and Mumbai; QR code trials in China and other parts of India; and a closed-loop MIFARE 2GO mobile solution currently in use on the Las Vegas Monorail in the United States.
Despite its slow start and uptake, the market for mobile ticketing is beginning to move extremely quickly, driven by the direct convergence of ticketing and payment applications. With multiple technologies like NFC, QR codes, SMS, and Bluetooth for Public Transportation Authorities (PTAs) to consider, it becomes a question of which technology will win out.
Answering this question is not clear cut, as there remains multiple considerations beyond technology type that need careful consideration before a PTA can decide to adopt one or a combination of mobile ticketing technologies.
Multiple Considerations Driving Multiple Solutions |
IMPACT |
Transit authority networks are extremely wide-ranging but can be broken down into six primary categories that cover a multitude of transportation modes, traveler types, technologies, protocols, payment media, and fare tariffs. The complex nature of a transit network ultimately means that there is no technological “silver bullet” to address all areas.
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One Size Fits All Approach Not Appropriate |
RECOMMENDATIONS |
In conclusion, there is no technological “silver bullet” to address all eventualities. PTA networks encompass myriad transit types/modes and fares. The network must be publicly accessible to a wide range of commuter types in terms of usage, generations, payment, and media access, and include access to travelers who do not have access to the necessary technology (such as a supported NFC-enabled device for mobile ticketing) and the unbanked in order to ensure that a public transportation system remains truly open and accessible for all.
As such, PTAs need to continue to support a diverse range of ticket types and provide travelers with a choice in terms of ticketing consumption in order to comply with their mandate of universal service access, often referred to as the digital inclusion imperative.
Public transportation needs to be accessible for all, and for that reason alone one technology or payment type cannot win out over another and technology coexistence is a key requirement to ensure continued ease of access for all. The overriding agnostic approach signals ticketing media/technology coexistence, at least for the foreseeable future.