Owners of Android NFC smartphones can now purchase, store, and validate digital tickets and monthly or annual passes for buses, trams, and other public transportation services in the French city of Strasbourg on their mobile devices.  Strasbourg mobile ticketing

Strasbourg’s metropolitan area is the ninth-largest metro area in France and is home to 13% of the Grand Est region’s inhabitants. The city is the official seat of the European Parliament and a busy transportation hub.

With more than 75 percent of French smartphone owners using Android, it’s important to enable secure access to mobile ticketing on these devices, especially with global demand for contactless payment solutions rising since the start of the pandemic.

Over the last 18 months, due to the pandemic, contactless travel options have become more important to passengers, and authorities and operators are responding by evolving their technology setup to cater for new and future behaviors.

Transit operator Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS) has rolled out an interoperable mobile ticketing service on all its transit networks, including regional rail services, that also enables passengers with Android NFC devices to purchase tickets on networks with compatible systems in other cities.

The service is the first to use the HCE Calypso Interoperable Application (HCIA) — a solution developed by the Calypso Networks Association (CNA) — that uses host card emulation (HCE) technology to secure transactions, and CNA’s Hoplink platform to enable interoperability with other Calypso-based ticketing systems.

“The solution enables transport operators and authorities to deliver Calypso ticketing using HCE technology on Android devices while maintaining robust Calypso security standards,”

the CNA explains.

“The ticketing application also has the potential to work seamlessly on other Calypso systems globally, with Calypso’s Hoplink application enabling customers to buy and hold tickets for other city networks using the service, via their Android device.”

“The technological advance, provided through open standards, enables transport operators and authorities to greatly expand their base of devices with which customers can tap to pay for their travel via NFC, across a range of mobility (MaaS) options,”

the association adds.

“Significantly, passengers with Android phones can now also reload or top up their Calypso-based transport cards, making it even easier to pay and use public transport, while minimising physical contact.” Strasbourg mobile ticketing

The need for MaaS will only increase as urban populations continue to grow. City-dwellers expect contactless mobility services to be available where they live and work, from the first mile to the last. Transport organisations need to be ready to cater to these new demands.

Philippe Vappereau, Chairman of Calypso Networks Association, which regulates the use of Calypso technology, concluded:

“As the world starts travelling again, users who have embraced contactless payments over the last 18 months are expecting a better mobility experience. By making travel journeys as seamless as possible, MaaS deployments like the one in Strasbourg will encourage more passengers to travel throughout France and beyond, knowing they can buy and validate a ticket quickly and securely, using a device they already carry with them everywhere.”

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