Centro demonstrates smart ticketing pilot

Sandeep Shingadia, front, Centro head of scheme development, demonstrates the prototype smart ticketing system to Jaime Arrazola of Spain, left, Boris Pokric of Serbia and Giusepe Biasu of Italy.

Centro, the authority responsible for delivering public transport in the West Midlands, demonstrates the latest smart ticketing pilot to European partners.

Sandeep Shingadia, front, Centro head of scheme development, demonstrates the prototype smart ticketing system to Jaime Arrazola of Spain, left, Boris Pokric of Serbia and Giusepe Biasu of Italy.

The new smart ticketing technology works out how a passenger can best make their journey and establishes the most suitable ticket for the journey.

Centro’s journey planner is part of a €4 million European Union project called ‘MobiWallet’ to improve smart ticketing technology.

The project will be integrated with the Swift smartcard system to improve the current journey planner, calculate the best ticket for the journey and enable its purchase through a mobile phone or on-street reader.

The smart ticketing trial was recently demonstrated by Centro to representatives from Novi Sad in Serbia, Tuscany in Italy and Santander in Spain where the two year MobiWallet scheme will also take place.

 Sandeep Shingadia, Centro head of scheme development at Centro, said: “The system will offer you a range of ticket options as you plan your journey on your smartphone.

“You will be able to pay for the ticket and then load it on to your Swift card either via an app or a reader.

“Smart ticketing is moving forward at such a fast pace and it won’t be long before schemes like this will be an everyday occurrence for millions of bus, rail, and tram passengers across Europe.”