Mobile ticketing company Masabi has announced a contract to provide its Justride platform for a mobile ticketing pilot on the Airport Express bus run by transport company EMT Madrid. Under the terms of the deal, EMT Madrid will deploy the Justride platform in partnership with Banco Santander and Mastercard’s payment technology on the bus service connecting central Madrid with Barajas International Airport.

The system is set to go live during the first quarter of 2019 and will run for an initial 12-month period before being evaluated.

Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid) has announced that it will launch a mobile ticketing pilot project on the Airport Express bus, connecting central Madrid with Barajas International Airport. The system will allow passengers to download an EMT branded app onto their smartphones and purchase tickets which are displayed on screen as a dynamic and encrypted barcode. These tickets are then scanned using readers which will be deployed on the buses. For passengers, it removes the hassle of having to carry cash, making buying a ticket simple for both locals and tourists. The App will be available both in English and Spanish.

The pilot will help EMT Madrid reduce cash handling on board buses as well enabling a shift towards a digitised mobility experience. The system will use the Justride platform from Masabi, together with Mastercard’s payment technology and Santander, who will be the acquiring bank for the deployment. The system is set to go live during the first quarter of 2019, and will run for an initial 12 month period before being evaluated.

Masabi’s Justride platform is already in use with over 40 transport operators around the globe, including major cities such as New York, London, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, Sydney and in countries such as France and the Netherlands. It also works with partners including Transit App and Keolis, among others, who incorporate Masabi’s ticketing technology into existing apps using the Justride SDK.

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“Mobile Ticketing makes buying tickets quick and easy for passengers and saves the cost and hassle of having to handle cash on board our buses,” said Enrique Diego, CTO of EMT Madrid. “In addition, ticket digitization in the airport line will allow us to open new sales channels so that we can attract additional riders to use our service. This project and its technological developments are very relevant to EMT and our users.”

“Mastercard is working with the world’s leading cities and industry partners to remove the friction that slows down how people move around them,” said Paloma Real, Spain Country manager at MasterCard. “The introduction of mobile ticketing in Madrid will make riding the bus as simple as possible for residents and visitors and we are excited to be working with Masabi and Santander to make this a reality.”

“This deployment is bringing revolutionary technology to the Spanish transit sector,” said Rubén Justel, CEO at Santander España Merchant Services. “We are proud to be working at the forefront of digital payments on this flagship project in Spain’s capital city.”

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