Mobile ticketing is a key part of the mCommerce revolution, neatly encapsulating the transactional capabilities, and the convenience, of the mobile channel. So it’s perhaps no surprise that, over the past 18 months, mobile tickets have begun to edge their way into the public consciousness, as airlines, train operating companies, bus companies, theatres and concert promoters have all started to dip their toes in the mobile ticketing waters. 

Last year’s winner in the Ticketing category of the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards came from the Transport sector. Chiltern Railways’ solution, developed in conjunction with its technology partners, Masabi and Atos, turns the mobile phone into both a ticket machine and the ticket itself. It’s a complete, end-to-end mobile rail ticketing system, powered by the Atos rail booking engine and using EncryptME, the world’s first NIST-certified mobile security software, as validated by BT.

To ensure the system was mass-transit ready, Masabi collaborated with Access IS to create a mobile barcode scanner with Oyster-like speed and reliability. Barcodes can be securely validated on the train by the Guard using Atos’s AVANTIX Mobile portable ticketing machine. CAPEX costs were minimised by implementing a phased rollout process that gauges passenger adoption first, and then invests in mTicket scanning equipment accordingly.

This implementation marked the first time in the UK that rail passengers could use both smartphones and everyday handsets to buy and receive mobile rail tickets, and customer feedback on the app has been overwhelmingly positive.

This year’s competition has already seen some strong entries in this category, including one from an iconic London tourist attraction. So the competition is fierce, but we expect it to become even fiercer as the entries pour in during these final few days.

To enter The Mobile Ticketing category, or indeed any other, in this years Awards, head over to the Awards website for details, download the Entry Form, and get it back to us before 5pm UK time on Friday 10 August. Thats just five days away. And remember, its completely free to enter, and you can submit as many campaigns as you think are worthy of recognition. The Awards Ceremony takes place in London on 29 November.

And if you missed our Awards webinar last week, you can catch a recording of it here. It’s very short, only around 10 minutes, just a quick run through of the entry criteria and key dates.