Transport operator Stagecoach Group and mobile operator Everything Everywhere have teamed up for the UK’s first “Government-standard” commercial deployment of mobile contactless transport ticketing, which could lead to a nationwide roll out across select bus and rail services in 2013.

The trial, already underway on the Stagecoach bus network in Cambridgeshire, enables a small cross-section of bus users to receive, store and validate their bus tickets using their mobile phone. Everything Everywhere is providing each customer in the trial with a Quick Tap-enabled mobile handset on its Orange mobile brand. Quick Tap is the umbrella name used for Orange’s NFC (Near-Field Communications) services, and the handsets used will feature the technology, as well as an app, making them compatible with the local bus network’s smartcard readers. This will allow users to travel on Stagecoach buses across Cambridgeshire including the Cambridge Park & Ride and Guided Busway services.   

The trial uses the Department of Transport’s preferred ITSO (Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation) smart ticketing technology, and will monitor the levels of customer convenience the Quick Tap service provides. The trial also contributes to the Government’s vision to deliver, along with transport operators and public sector bodies, the infrastructure to enable most public transport journeys to be undertaken using smart ticketing by December 2014.

“We’ve already started a new movement in the way we make payments and receive retail rewards on the high street, so this really is the next step – providing customers with additional simplicity and convenience to help improve their public transport experience,” says Everything Everywhere chief marketing officer, Gerry McQuade.

“As Britain’s biggest communication company, we’re proud to be working with Stagecoach to help bring public transport ticketing into the 21st century and start a trend towards a future where ultimately the traditional paper and card tickets of today will eventually become a thing of the past.”

Stagecoach Group finance director Martin Griffiths adds: “Smartphones are playing an increasingly important role in helping people manage their busy lifestyles, and are already used across many areas of life. We believe this technology can also make public transport easier and more convenient to use. Once this trial is complete, we will carry out a review of the findings and assess the potential to expand the scheme further for our passengers.”

Everything Everywhere notes that, as with contactless mobile payments, the security of customers details in the new Quick Tap transport ticketing service will be of paramount importance and the solution has been developed and rigorously tested to ensure customers’ ticket details and personal data will be protected and secure.