Users of Apple Inc.’s iPhones in the United Kingdom will be able to securely purchase Chiltern Railways train tickets and display them as on-screen barcodes using an application set to launch this spring.
Masabi Ltd., a London-based mobile-ticketing company for the transportation industry, built the application with Atos Origin S.A., a France-based information-technology provider. Atos Origin is providing the back-end e-ticketing infrastructure that supports the mobile application, Masabi noted in a Feb. 1 news release.
Masabi, which calls the free application a “ticket machine in your pocket,” in September announced plans to launch the service to support access along the UK’s National Rail network (
Chiltern Railways is one of the first UK-based train lines to move forward with the application and already is adding barcode ticket gates along its routes developed by San Diego-based Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd., Ben Whitaker, CEO of Masabi, tells PaymentsSource.
Being the first line to launch the application is beneficial because “Chiltern will receive the commission from each sale, even if consumers use it to purchase tickets for a different train line, Whitaker says. Whitaker declined to comment on the amount of the commission.
Indeed, though Chiltern is launching the application, consumers may use it to purchase tickets on other train lines, Whitaker explains. For tickets purchased for a different line, however, consumers still must print out a ticket at the station. Only tickets purchased on the Chiltern line will include the barcode technology.
The application also gives consumers an additional ticketing option if they are going to stations that only have ticket machines, Whitaker says. Often those machines are broken so consumers are unable to purchase tickets, he says.
Moreover, because railway transit is popular in the UK, many stations have looked to expand their stations to accommodate more riders. The application gives rail stations the ability to expand without building additional kiosks or stations because it cuts down on the number of ticket-buyers waiting in line, Whitaker says.
“Train stations still have to staff each station because consumers will always have questions, but the application frees up the lines for consumers who actually have questions as opposed to those that just want to purchase tickets,” says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Boston-based Aite Group LLC.
The application also is beneficial to train stations because it alleviates the need to handle cash, Shevlin says. Any company that handles cash runs the risk of theft, so it is a cost benefit if the company can displace that cost, he explains.
Additionally, train lines may benefit because the downloadable application enables train lines to track customer use and trends, Shevlin says. There are millions of consumers riding the train, and now train lines “can see who their best customers are and perhaps offer them some kind of incentive so customer remains loyal,” he notes.
Consumers may download the application from Apple’s online application store. They also may send a text message to Masabi, who will provide them a link to the application store, Masabi’s Whitaker says.
The application enables consumers to view train times and prices, and it allows them the option to store their card information after they purchase their first ticket using a credit or debit card, Whitaker says. Each time consumers make a purchase using the application they will be asked only to enter their card’s three-digit card verification code, he adds.
After consumers choose the train time, route and price, Masabi delivers the mobile ticket as a two-dimensional barcode within the application. Special scanners on gates at stations will read the phone’s screen to enable passengers to “touch in” and “touch out” of stations, Whitaker says. Ticket agents will verify the mobile tickets with portable scanners or by visually inspecting the ticket on the mobile handset.
The iPhone application will launch in the spring, and applications for Research in Motion Ltd. BlackBerry, Google Inc. Android, and various Samsung Electronic and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication AB phones will follow later this year.
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