Use of cell phones to pay for public transportation services
Cell phones have become an active and inseparable part of our daily routines. There are mobile applications for nearly everything, and in many cases they make our lives easier.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of administrations and governments are committed to promoting public transportation. They encourage citizens to make use of the service through a variety of approaches and projects designed to reinforce aspects such as the quality, convenience and reliability of public transportation.
Contactless cards have been widely implemented and are currently used as a payment technology in public transportation services in Spain as well as many other parts of the globe. This system reduces cash handling for drivers, improves the commercial speed of the service through faster boarding by passengers, and provides administrations with a vast quantity of information about users’ journeys. The benefits for passengers are greater convenience and lower fares, which in turn encourage greater use of the services.
In this context, the technology now available means that we can reinforce the contactless payment of public transportation through cell phones (devices with NFC technology), enhancing the previous concept of the plastic card by adding a display, keyboard and online communications.
- Users will be able to buy tickets from their cell phone rather than having to go to a point of sale.
- Users will be able to top up tickets from their cell phone rather than having to go to a top-up point.
- Users will be able to check recent journeys and top-ups on their cell phone rather than having to go to an information point.
- Users will be able to buy a ticket on board the vehicle using their cell phone in exactly the same way as their contactless card.
In partnership with Transermobile and Vodafone (other telecommunications operators are expected to sign up in the coming months), Indra has launched a project to introduce a mobile payment system for urban transportation in Logroño. The project will allow the residents of this city to use their cell phone as an additional payment option on the bus, to buy tickets and top-ups online, and to check their journeys through a special mobile application.
Logroño is the second city in Spain (after Valencia) to implement an NFC payment system for public transportation users and the first one to introduce the use of personalized tickets.
The use of cell phones to pay for public transportation is not intended (currently) to replace the existing public transportation payment systems, but to provide an additional tool to improve convenience for users. Time will tell how it evolves and how well it is accepted by users.
Journalistic sources:
· www.larioja.com/logrono/201412/12/logrono-segunda-implantar-pago-20141212131016.html
· http://www.expansion.com/agencia/europa_press/2014/12/12/20141212133700.html
· http://www.negocios.com/noticias/indra-implanta-pago-movil-los-autobuses-logrono-12122014-1321
· http://www.teinteresa.es/tecno/Logrono-incorpora-sistema-Indra-autobuses_0_1265274240.html
· http://www.negocios.com/noticias/indra-implanta-pago-movil-los-autobuses-logrono-12122014-1321