How facial recognition could replace train tickets — BBC News — “A facial recognition system designed to replace the need for tickets on trains is being tested in the UK… An early version that uses two near-infrared lights to help a single camera determine texture and orientation of each pixel it captures was shown to BBC Click… Researchers told the programme that they believe it will successfully identify passengers without the need for them to stop walking and could replace ticket gates.”
- Bengaluru metro to let passengers pay with their face
- Cleveland transit authority joins regional mobile ticketing service
- Cannes rolls out open loop contactless bus ticketing
- Uber to integrate train, coach and plane tickets into UK app
- Qatar to roll out contactless fare payments across metro, bus, tram and taxi services
TfL makes it easier to top up Oyster cards while on the go
TfL makes it easier to top up Oyster cards while on the go — Transport for London — “Next month, the new TfL app will launch, allowing customers to top up their Oyster card with pay-as-you-go credit and buy Travelcards wherever they are… It will also allow customers to check how much credit they have on their Oyster card and also provide, for the first time, a ‘low balance’ alert direct on their mobile to help customers ensure they have enough pay-as-you-go credit before they travel.”
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units — Gulf Business — “Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that Nol cards can now be used to make payments at more than 1,000 selected retail outlets… Nol cards are used to pay for public transport systems such as the Metro, Tram, buses and water taxis… The network of retailers accepting Nol cards is projected to exceed 5,000 by the end of this year.”
Contactless travel card offers automatic repayments for delayed trains
Data collected when a contactless card is used to pay for a train journey is now being used to automatically compensate passengers when their train is delayed by 15 minutes or more, removing the need for travellers to manually file a request for a refund. More
Commuters on the F1 Manly to Circular Quay ferry first to tap into contactless ticketing on one of Sydney’s most iconic routes
Commuters on the F1 Manly to Circular Quay ferry first to tap into contactless ticketing on one of Sydney’s most iconic routes — Mastercard — “Paying for a ferry ride is now as easy as tap-and-go, as Mastercard and Transport for NSW bring contactless ticketing payment to Sydney Ferries… In an Australian first, commuters can use their Mastercard contactless card or mobile wallets that have enabled Mastercard cards to tap on.”
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More than 30m journeys made using NFC mobile phones across London in the last 12 months
More than 31m journeys have been made using NFC mobile phones across Transport for London’s (TfL) network in the last 12 months, the transport operator has revealed. 40% of all pay as you go journeys across the network are now being made using contactless — up from 25% in early 2016 — with almost one in ten of these being made using a mobile device. More
Opal card implanted into Sydney man Meow-Meow could be deactivated by NSW authorities
Opal card implanted into Sydney man Meow-Meow could be deactivated by NSW authorities — ABC News — “Transport authorities in New South Wales have threatened to deactivate an Opal card that has been implanted in a Sydney man’s hand… ‘Transport for NSW does not support the tampering or damaging of Opal Cards, which would be a breach of the terms of use,’ they said.”
Sydney man has Opal card implanted into hand to make catching public transport easier
Sydney man has Opal card implanted into hand to make catching public transport easier — ABC News — “Bio-hacker Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow, his legal name, had the Opal near-field communication (NFC) chip cut down and encased in bio-compatible plastic, measuring 1 millimetre by 6 millimetres. He then had the device implanted just beneath the skin on the side of his left hand. “It gives me an ability that not everyone else has, so if someone stole my wallet I could still get home,” he said.”
Beijing subway launches smartphone version of travel card
Beijing subway launches smartphone version of travel card — ECNS — “Starting Monday, subway travelers in the Chinese capital with NFC-enabled phones can leave their physical travel card at home and use their smartphone instead, Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card (BMAC) said… Beijing subway said the mobile pass function does not support iPhone because of Apple’s restrictions.”
Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel passengers can now ‘wave and pay’
Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel passengers can now ‘wave and pay’ — Oxford Times — “This would do more than ‘just replace the existing cash ticket’, managing director Phil Southall said… ‘We’re really proud to be able to offer the ability for customers to pay for their tickets using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Android Pay on all of our services from today. We have ambitious plans over the coming months.'”
Travel for free on the tube using a Lucozade bottle
Travel for free on the tube using a Lucozade bottle — Silicon — “Free Lucozade bottles with a contactless chip at the base will be handed out at Oxford Circus station and can be used to pay for a single journey on London’s subterranean railway network. Passengers simply tap the bottle at the gates as if they were using a normal card.”
Hangzhou buses first to all use mobile pay
Hangzhou buses first to all use mobile pay — China.org.cn — “‘Passengers can use Alipay and UnionPay flash payment cards on this terminal. Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Huawei Pay, Mi Pay and Android Pay can be used with smartphones or wearables like watches and electronic bracelets,’ said Liu Xiaojie, general manager of public services at Ant Financial.”
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KPN and Vodafone launch SIM-based mobile payments for public transport
Commuters across the Netherlands can now make payments for travel across “all public transport operators” in the country by adding their OV transport card to their compatible NFC smartphone and tapping the phone against a reader before and after their journeys... More
Mastercard is becoming the ticket to ride in more than 80 global cities
Mastercard is becoming the ticket to ride in more than 80 global cities — Mastercard — “With a Mastercard in their wallet, more and more people have a go-to transit pass for the city they’re in,” said Ian Slater, senior vice president, enterprise partnerships, Mastercard. “In today’s connected world, having to figure out a new ticketing system every time people visit a new city is the opposite of a seamless experience.”
Transport and mobile community define management framework for delivering mobile ticketing services
Transport and mobile community define management framework for delivering mobile ticketing services — GlobalPlatform — “Designed in collaboration with the Smart Ticketing Alliance and the GSMA, the document brings the transport ticketing and mobile communities together to ensure interoperable mobile ticketing is brought to market efficiently and securely using an agreed framework.”
Lothian Buses to offer HCE mobile payments for public transport in Scotland
PARTNER NEWS: Scottish commuters using public transport services operated by Lothian Buses will soon be able to pay for their journeys using a host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payment service powered by Nevis Technologies, the joint venture between Scotland’s largest regional transport group Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and technology provider Rambus. More
Bus operator reports QR and NFC adoption stats
Bus passengers in the UK county of West Yorkshire are using QR codes and NFC at bus stops 10,000 times every week to retrieve travel information... More
Bluetooth rail ticketing service to include biometrics?
Fingerprint and iris scanning technology “could eventually” be incorporated into a Bluetooth and geolocation-based ticketing service to be piloted by UK rail firm Chiltern Railways in July 2017... More
Bluetooth bus ticketing trial lets passengers travel without buying a ticket
Bus passengers in northern England are trialling a mobile ticketing system that works with Bluetooth beacons placed on buses and at bus stops, and a smartphone app that tracks the user’s journey and then charges them the best-value price over the course of a day or week. More
White paper sets out ‘game changer’ role for NFC in public transport ticketing
A 14-page white paper that aims to educate public transport operators, mobile network operators and handset manufacturers on how to implement NFC technology across transportation systems, while ensuring consistent, reliable and efficient performance between devices and mobile ticketing systems, is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre. More