Contactless Ticketing
The introduction of contactless tickets in the public transportation field enabled operators to make considerable saving while improving customer satisfaction. Cost reductions are achieved when the maintenance costs are reduced; some operators have demonstrated saving millions of Euros right from the first year after switching from magnetic stripe tickets to contactless technology. In addition to cost reduction, the increasing amount of counterfeited magnetic tickets has pushed operators to find a secure solution, which contactless ticket with integrated circuit brings.
Contactless tickets with their extended memory enable operators to set pricing policies which adapt passenger needs better; thanks to contactless tickets’ extended memory,the number of fare combinations is higher. One ticket can combine different contractsso that with a single ticket passenger can take several transportation means operated by different operators instead of using several tickets. Some cities have even combined transportation features with some services dedicated to tourists such as city sightseeing tours, monument and museum accesses.
Contactless technology enables also more fluent passenger traffic flow. Effectivetransaction time combined with user-friendliness make each passage at gates, or validations on board, 3 times shorter than when using magnetic tickets.
Advantages:
More Security
Magnetic tickets have very poor security protection against fraud. A magnetic ticket can be easily counterfeited. With the introduction of an Integrated Circuit, the security has been considerably improved thanks to the enhancement of the recognition means, data protections and the unicity of each product.
Recognition: the reader authenticates the ticket. In certain cases the security can be highly enhanced so that the ticket authenticates the reader as well before enabling a transaction.
Data protection: data can be protected in several ways. By encryption, by certificate by limiting writing, when for instance, using OTP (One Time Programmable) functionalities.
Unicity of media: each ticket is unique thanks to the unicity of its IC’s serial number.
Extended memory
The size of the data able to be stored in a ticket has been considerably increased in comparison with magnetic so that a simple ticket can offer additional services by combining different applications: transport, museum and events access, small payments, etc.
Beating the queues at gates
A contactless ticket does not have to be inserted in a slot. It works through a handbag, wallet, etc. Its transaction time is lower than any magnetic ticket, between 50 and 150 milliseconds versus several seconds when the ticket as to be inserted in a magnetic reading machine. When it is used in events such as concerts, concertgoers pass through the gates without having to show their passes to door security, thanks to the embedded security of ticket.
More reliability
Contactless tickets eliminates problems relating to demagnetization and consequently the number of defects in the field. Eliminates ticket reader jams. Magnetic tickets machine requires mechanical parts, which is not the case with the contactless technology.
Maintenance cost reduction
Contactless readers have no moving parts. Reading and writing are performed without touching any device. Consequently, there is no wear and equipments fouling up. Public Transport Operators using magnetic based solutions, devote million of Euros per year to maintain their equipments.
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