Mobile ticketing

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mobile ticketing is a mobile commerce application . In Germany, mobile ticketing is also known as HandyTicket . Mobile tickets replace admission tickets, travel tickets or other physical receipts that have been customary up to now with information sent to a mobile device (classic mobile phone or smartphone) and electronically stored there. For use mobile tickets come in regular operation since 2003 in the public transport (PT), on-street parking lots ( Handyparken ) in the air and rail transport as well as sports and cultural events.

history

The first pilot test in the field of mobile ticketing in local public transport was carried out in September 2002 by the Berlin transport company together with E-Plus.

In 2003 the Osnabrück public utility company introduced the Teltix mobile phone ticket system from the company of the same name, initially in pilot operation in January 2003 and then in regular operation in July 2003. At the end of 2003 the system was introduced at Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB) and in 2004 at the Cologne transport company .

On September 1, 2006, Deutsche Bahn (DB) introduced a mobile phone ticket for rail travel over 50 km (long-distance traffic).

Order process and delivery

Via application on the smartphone

The customer installs an app on his smartphone that communicates with the provider's background system. Such apps are usually available for the Apple iOS , Android , BlackBerry OS and Java- enabled mobile devices. Depending on the design, the application communicates via the WAP (largely outdated) or HTTP protocols .

Advantages of the apps: The program can guide the user in operation, the ticket is stored in encrypted form, a change of region (e.g. registered in Hamburg and driven in Dresden) is easily possible, other functions such as timetable information can be easily implemented. Disadvantage: There may be additional connection costs (depending on the data tariff) for the order.

Via SMS or MMS

The ticket is ordered by SMS and delivered as an SMS or MMS . Advantage: Installation with Java-enabled mobile devices, which may not always be easy, is bypassed, but more and more mobile devices are based on more modern operating systems (smartphones), where installation is unproblematic. Disadvantage: Ordering via SMS (ticket type, departure station, region) can become quite illegible and cryptic. MMS deliveries are not economical in public transport, as the costs per MMS are in the same range as physical tickets. MMS is only used by Deutsche Bahn ( Aztec barcode as in online printing ). Another disadvantage: the cost of ordering SMS. There is no provider who only charges the SMS costs to the recipient, so that the SMS is free of charge for the sender (analogous to the collect call with voice services).

Via website

The ticket is ordered from the computer or mobile device from a website, which then sends it as an SMS or image file. This distribution channel is available and easy to use for a large number of users.

By phone number

The ticket is ordered by calling a special telephone number (usually free of charge) and received as an SMS. Each type of ticket has its own phone number and enables - especially after saving in the contact book - a very simple and often free order.

Examination procedure

In public transport, tickets must either be checked by the driver when there is a "controlled front entry" or by inspection services that carry out spot checks. When the vehicle is full, it should be possible to test between two stops, which should not exceed a total test duration of approx. 5–10 seconds per customer. This is roughly the time it takes to visually inspect a paper ticket. This is still a problem at the moment, as both online and offline exams sometimes require more time than physical notes.

Online exam

The ticket inspector is connected to a background system or can send a test request and then receives information from the background system as to whether a valid ticket is available. The online connection required for this must be guaranteed at all times, including in the underground tunnel, for example.

Offline testing

The ticket inspector can use a suitable reading process to determine whether a valid ticket (possibly for precisely this passenger) is available. Proof of identity is still required for non-transferable tickets (BahnCard, identity card, passport or other recognized ID). If the ticket cannot be read directly on the mobile phone display, the examiner needs a reader.

Billing

By mobile phone bill

Until about mid-2008, payment by telephone bill was only possible for "telephone-related" services. This has also been permitted for tickets since the last quarter of 2008 and is also offered in Germany. Advantage: This eliminates the need to register with the ticket provider, because you are already registered as a customer of the mobile phone provider. Disadvantage: With registration you are a customer of public transport and are known there and not only a customer of the mobile phone provider, which enables CRM measures. There is also a service charge for the provider, which makes the sales channel more expensive in addition to the pure transport costs for ordering SMS or Java-GPRS.

By financial service provider

The fees for the tickets must be calculated and collected, the income must then be transferred to the service providers (e.g. transport companies). The associated services such as debiting accounts receivable, possibly settling prepaid accounts, collecting bad debts, reversing direct debits, incorrect account data, credit checks , etc. are offered by financial service providers with a banking license.

Application examples

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Teltix system

In 2003 Stadtwerke Osnabrück introduced the Teltix mobile phone ticket system from the company of the same name, initially in pilot operation in January 2003 and then in regular operation in July 2013. At the end of 2003 the system was introduced at Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB) and in 2004 at the Cologne transport company. With this system, the customer called a telephone number assigned to the respective city after prior registration. Initially, a single ticket was always issued. If you bought more than one ticket on the same day, you automatically switched to a day ticket via a best price module.

Mobile phone ticket Germany of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV)

Logo of Handyticket Germany

In April 2007, several transport companies from various transport associations, coordinated by the VDV, started a pilot project that focused on a supra-regional market test, customer acceptance of Java technology on mobile devices and the development of a nationwide public transport standard. Another aim of the project was to answer the question of whether such a technology can be easily and conveniently implemented with the mobile devices and contracts available on the market.

The pilot project ran until January 2010 and was then transferred to regular operation. For this regular operation with its numerous improvements, a Europe-wide tender was carried out in the course of 2009. HanseCom GmbH, a subsidiary of INIT Innovation in Traffic Systems, was awarded the contract . At the beginning of 2013, 25 transport companies from 19 transport associations took part in the joint project. In February 2014, the Berlin-Brandenburg transport association joined the mobile phone ticket, which means that all affiliated companies now provide for a total of 33 million residents. In contrast , the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund has terminated its cooperation with Handyticket Deutschland due to a lack of acceptance and falling user numbers, as has the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association (VVS). The Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (VGN) has also ended its participation in the German mobile phone ticket and introduced its own app. The Cologne transport company replaced the HandyTicket with its own app in early 2019.

HandyTicket Deutschland can be used (as of 2019) via its own app for Android and iOS or via a platform-independent web application . It allows the purchase of tickets, information on connections and price levels as well as the display of route plans.

Touch & Travel

Touch and Travel logo

Touch & Travel was a cross-mode mobile phone ticket from Deutsche Bahn from 2007 to 2016. It has been piloted since 2007 in several pilot phases with selected test customers on long-distance routes between Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and Hanover as well as in local and regional traffic in Potsdam and Berlin on the basis of Near Field Communication (NFC). Because the NFC standard was slow to spread and the smartphones, which were still new at the time, offered other technical options such as GPS tracking, Touch & Travel was first published in 2011 for iOS and a little later for Android and the use of the system was released for all interested customers. The NFC technology moved more and more into the background, so an NFC-enabled smartphone was no longer mandatory.

In December 2013 Touch & Travel had 50,000 customers. All ICE and IC / EC trains could be used throughout Germany and on selected routes to other European countries. In local transport, Touch & Travel was used in numerous transport associations, e. B. in the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg , Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund or Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar also in regional trains and S-Bahn, bus, tram or underground.

Unlike other cell phone tickets, Touch & Travel was a check-in / check-out system. In other words, the customer logs in with his mobile phone before starting the journey and logs out again at the end of the journey. So-called contact points were installed at all stops. There the registration and deregistration could be carried out by scanning a barcode, manually entering the contact point number or by NFC transmission. Another possibility was to determine the position using GPS. When registering, a driving authorization was stored in the Touch & Travel background system and on the mobile phone ( Aztec code ), which could be read by the inspectors. The fare was displayed directly on the mobile phone after the journey was completed. The special thing was that the billing was done after the trip, just like when making a phone call. Location data from the mobile phone was used to determine routes and prices during the journey. Data protectionists criticized this procedure. The advantages of a check-in / check-out system for the customer are that they do not have to worry about tariffs, as the system automatically selects the cheapest (single card and short-haul) tariff. If several trips were made in one day, these were automatically combined retrospectively into a day ticket. Critics complained that it was not possible to take other people with you and the limited range of tickets (e.g. no bike cards).

Touch & Travel was discontinued on November 30, 2016. The technology is integrated into other apps ( e.g. ticket2go ).

ticket2go

Since April 2017, ticket2go has been available in Baden-Württemberg as a comprehensive replacement for Touch & Travel in local transport. The system is to be extended to other transport associations.

VRR nextTicket

Since March 2018, the Rhein-Ruhr transport association has had nextTicket, a comprehensive replacement for Touch & Travel in local transport.

Mobile phone ticket with Deutsche Bahn

Mobile phone ticket Deutsche Bahn 2016

On September 1, 2006, Deutsche Bahn (DB) introduced a mobile phone ticket for rail travel over 50 km (long-distance traffic). Initially, it was only available for predetermined connections, payment had to be made by credit card or direct debit. Apart from the BahnCard, no discounts were initially accepted. Business customers in the bahn.corporate program could also purchase cell phone tickets for shorter distances. Tickets can be booked via mobile.bahn.de after registering once. BahnCard and corporate customer discounts were taken into account. As of October 31, 2012, the limit of 50 km also no longer applies to private customers: a mobile phone ticket can be ordered for each connection if the DB tariff is applicable. An app has also been available for DB mobile phone tickets since January 2012. The ticket with the 2D Aztec code is transmitted via MMS or can be purchased and downloaded directly via the DB Navigator app . Since the beginning of 2014, mobile phone tickets have also automatically included the city ​​ticket when purchasing a ticket with a BahnCard discount . The BahnCard itself has also been available as a mobile phone ticket since September 2015.

In the first five months of 2015, 2.3 million mobile phone tickets were sold, around 70 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. In 2014, online ticket sales dominated all other sales channels with a share of 30 percent. According to information from DB at the end of 2014, more than 2.8 million online tickets (including cell phone tickets) were sold each month. This is more than every second long-distance ticket. The average travel distance was 340 kilometers. Cell phone tickets would be bought an average of three days before departure. Two out of three cell phone tickets would be booked on the day of travel. According to its own information, DB sold a total of 2.3 million mobile phone tickets between January and May 2015. In 2016, 10 million cell phone tickets were sold (60 percent more than in the previous year), in 2017 almost 15 million cell phone tickets (47 percent more than in the previous year). Every twentieth DB ticket is sold as a mobile phone ticket. 28 million mobile phone tickets were sold in 2018. Around 45 million mobile phone tickets were sold in 2019. A total of 105 million mobile phone tickets were sold in the first ten years.

A mobile ticket can also be considered on the book review of the sides of the DB online ticket printed out and thus asserted, for example, tax or in the expense report. Identification is required to check the validity of the driving authorization. This is usually an identity card, a Deutsche Bahn customer card or a bank / credit card.

Test results

In a test of 16 mobile phone ticket apps in September 2014, Stiftung Warentest found that ticket purchases usually work, but at the same time criticized the limited range (often no multiple tickets and subscriptions), the lack of best price calculations and confusing bills.

Mobile ticketing outside of Germany in Europe

A ticket system is running in Stockholm and Helsinki that has sold 30 million tickets since 2001. It should be noted that the cash sale in the vehicle and the installation of the ticket machines have been reduced. This is currently not being considered in Germany for reasons of customer service. The billing runs through the mobile phone bill, so registration is not necessary.

In Austria, a system is used that goes far beyond German use. The approach is to use the mobile device as a general means of payment for goods and services of all kinds, including public transport tickets. Billing takes place via the mobile phone bill. The private WESTbahn, on the other hand, uses QR codes with which anonymous tickets purchased on the web or spontaneously on the train can be validated on the smartphone at any time. An offline check is possible despite the flexible travel date.

Estonia has also been using mobile ticketing since 2002. It is interesting that there were two different pilot projects in Tallinn and Tartu. While tickets can be requested by SMS in Tallinn, in Tartu there is the option of ordering a weekly or monthly ticket via voice control by calling.

In Switzerland, tickets can be purchased using the Swiss Federal Railways app, among other things , whereby the ticket must be purchased before the start of the journey, analogous to purchasing machines and online. Since 2018, there has also been the option of buying tickets across Switzerland using the Lezzgo and Fairtiq apps using the check-in-check-out principle, with the cheapest tariff for the route being calculated automatically. The SwissPass was also launched as an app in 2018 .

literature

  • Helmut Krauledat, Till Ackermann: The cell phone as a ticket machine. Objectives and first results of the mobile phone ticket pilot project. In: Local transport. 26, 4, 2008, ISSN  0722-8287 , pp. 10-45.
  • Stephan Buse, Rajnish Tiwari (Ed.): Perspectives of Mobile Commerce in Germany. Basics, strategies, customer acceptance, success factors. Shaker, Aachen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8322-7048-3 (reports from business administration) .

Web links

Germany

Switzerland

International

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Instead of a car: SMS as a bus ticket - manager magazin . In: manager magazin . ( manager-magazin.de [accessed on May 10, 2017]).
  2. ^ Daniel Reese: Test in Berlin: The BVG ticket is sent to the cell phone via SMS . ( teltarif.de [accessed November 20, 2018]).
  3. ↑ a b Christian Sprenger, Frank Wecker: RFID - guidelines for logistics: areas of application, possible uses, integration, practical examples . Springer-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8349-9188-1 ( google.de [accessed on November 14, 2018]).
  4. ↑ a b - All the inspector needs to do is look at the mobile phone display . In: General-Anzeiger Bonn . December 16, 2003 ( general-anzeiger-bonn.de [accessed November 14, 2018]).
  5. ↑ a b Cologne residents can buy tickets by mobile phone - computerwoche.de. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Deutsche Bahn prefers the introduction of mobile phone tickets - computerwoche.de. Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
  7. ↑ https://www.bahn.de/hilfe/view/pk/de/popup_faq/id3.shtml
  8. ↑ KVB ticket by mobile phone . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . ( ksta.de [accessed on November 14, 2018]).
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dashandyticket.de
  10. ↑ Press release of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg from February 18, 2014 ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vbb.de
  11. ↑ HVV says goodbye to the "Handy-Ticket Deutschland"
  12. ^ To say goodbye to the HandyTicket Deutschland in the VVS (Stuttgart). Pro Bahn, May 14, 2015, accessed on May 14, 2015 .
  13. ↑ HandyTicket Germany. VGN, October 1, 2015, accessed October 26, 2015 .
  14. ↑ No more VGN tickets via the "HandyTicket Deutschland" app. (No longer available online.) Radio NRJ, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on September 15, 2015 ; accessed on October 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.energy.de
  15. ↑ New HandyTicket system Additional payment methods, discounts and functions. In: ksta.de . January 8, 2019, accessed January 25, 2019 .
  16. ↑ HandyTicket Deutschland - The ticket app for Germany. Accessed October 30, 2019 : "Your mobility app for public transport & more [...] Download on the App Store [...] Get it on Google Play [...] Get the Web-App"
  17. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dmm.travel
  18. ↑ http://www.teltarif.de/deutsche-bahn-touch-travel-ausland-oesterreich-daenemark-belgien/news/52672.html
  19. ↑ http://www.daten-speicherung.de/?p=3319
  20. ↑ https://www.apptweak.com/touch-travel/iphone/germany/app-marketing-app-store-optimization-aso/reviews-ratings/best/all-versions/403714985
  21. ↑ http://www.ticket2go.online
  22. ↑ http://www.nextticket.de
  23. ^ Reports Germany . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . No. 10 , 2006, ISSN  1421-2811 , pp. 471 .
  24. ↑ Press release 002/2012: DB mobile phone tickets on the iPhone now even easier. (No longer available online.) Deutsche Bahn AG, archived from the original on February 5, 2012 ; Retrieved November 25, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com
  25. ↑ http://www.teltarif.de/bahn-handyticket-cityticket-inklusive/news/54335.html
  26. ↑ http://www.bahn.de/p/view/bahncard/ueberblick/bahncard-handyticket.shtml
  27. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG (Ed.): More and more rail customers are booking mobile phone tickets . Press release from June 8, 2015.
  28. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG (ed.): This is how online customers of Deutsche Bahn travel . Press release from December 29, 2014.
  29. ↑ The DB in numbers . In: mobile . No. 7 , July 2015, ISSN  0949-586X , ZDB -ID 1221702-5 , p. 65 .
  30. ↑ Ten million mobile phone tickets in 2016: Mobile booking has never been more popular. (No longer available online.) In: deutschebahn.com. January 5, 2017, archived from the original on January 5, 2017 ; Retrieved January 5, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com
  31. ^ DB News . In: mobile . No. 3 , March 2018, ISSN  0949-586X , ZDB -ID 1221702-5 , p. 94 .
  32. ↑ Plus for mobile phone tickets . In: mobile . No. 4 , April 2019, ISSN  0949-586X , ZDB -ID 1221702-5 , p. 103 .
  33. ↑ 10 years of DB Navigator: 105 million mobile phone tickets. In: deutschebahn.com. Deutsche Bahn, December 29, 2019, accessed on December 29, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Handyticket test by Stiftung Warentest In: test 9/2014, pp. 82–85 and test.de from September 5, 2014
  35. ↑ http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTEDEVELOPMENT/Resources/Praxis_Estonia_m-gov.pdf?resourceurlname=Praxis_Estonia_m-gov.pdf