The National Transport Authority has announced that the contract to supply and maintain a mobile ticketing solution for public transport has been awarded to Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd. The contract will provide a number of key services required to operate and administer the system.
Cubic will be responsible for providing a mobile phone application that will enable public transport customers to purchase a range of tickets through their phone and be able to hold and present the ticket on the phone.
The service will be rolled out on a pilot basis on certain Bus Éireann regional routes later this year, with further routes to be added on a phased basis.
This is a significant milestone in the enhancement of public transport and is but the first phase of the Authority’s Next Generation Ticketing (NGT) programme, which seeks to implement new and more flexible ticketing systems, provide additional ways of paying for travel and improve the overall customer experience.
Director of Public Transport Services, Tim Gaston said: “We are delighted to be able to announce the award of this contract to Cubic. They have a proven track record, and their mobile ticketing system is already deployed in major cities such as Chicago, New York, Cologne, Germany and London.
As providers of Iarnród Éireann’s integrated ticketing management and distribution system, they are also familiar with the dynamics of public transport in Ireland.
We are looking forward to working together with them to deliver mobile ticketing for public transport customers.”
Anne Graham, Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority said: “The introduction of mobile ticketing represents a significant development in public transport ticketing in Ireland, but it is just the first of many changes in ticketing that we believe will enhance the provision of public transport across Ireland.”
Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd is a leading integrator of payment information and related services for intelligent travel applications, with headquarters in San Diego, California.
They employ 2,300 people and have an annual turnover of $156 million.
Some of their more notable recent projects include the replacement of the Metrocard in New York in 2017, and the Opal Card in Sydney in 2012. Cubic processes more than 24 billion transactions a year.