A new innovative e-ticketing system from Deutsche Bahn and Vodafone is being tested across Germany by 200 users.
The e-ticketing concept from Deautche Bahn and Vodafone is based on new mobile phone technology called Near Field Communication (NFC), enabling non-contact data transmission within the distance of a few centimetres.
The new system is set to transform the mobile phone into a ticket. Travellers will have to sign on before departure by simply holding their phone next to a Touchpoint and sign off again on arrival at their destination. For this purpose, all train platforms and bus stops will be fitted with these so-called ”Touchpoints.” At the end of the journey, the distance travelled and the cost of the journey is calculated, and customers receive an invoice for their trips.
”We are carrying forward our growth strategy for passenger transportation, and are making train journeys easier and easier,” said, Deutsche Bahn chief executive, Hartmut Mehdorn. ”This is the only way we will also attract young people.”
Both companies are testing the new technology in an initial trial together with other partners in part of the S-Bahn network in Berlin and Hanover.
”I believe that the mobile phone will increasingly be used as a method of payment and also as a form of identification,” said Vodafone chairman of the executive board in Germany, Friedrich Joussen.
”Touch and Travel is an innovative solution, which facilitates rail journeys for customers and also shows the potential for payments and ticketing through mobile phones.”
Other participants involved in the Touch and Travel pilot project include the transport services of Berlin and Potsdam as well as the technology partners ATRON electronic, Giesecke & Devrient, Motorola and NXP.