A pilot project in the West Midlands is developing a journey planner that works out not only the best journey but also the most suitable ticket.
The scheme from the passenger transport executive, Centro, 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, which has been in use in the West Midlands since 2009, to improve the current journey planner.
Centro said the new software would calculate the best ticket for the journey and enable its purchase through a mobile phone or on-street reader.
Sandeep Shingadia, Centro head of scheme development, 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.’
The MobiWallet project is scheduled to last until July 2016 and is taking place in Novi Sad in Serbia, Tuscany in Italy and Santander in Spain as well as Birmingham.
Representatives from the three overseas areas have visited Centro’s Birmingham offices to see how their project works.
