Chiltern Railways has entered phase two of its mobile phone ticketing project following the success of the initial three month pilot during which 6,000 mobile phone tickets have been sold.

Working closely with project partners YourRail, Cubic Transportation Systems, Mobiqa and ts.com, Chiltern Railways is the first rail company in the UK to offer barcodes on mobile phones as an alternative to paper tickets.

Stage 2 will see further automation incorporated into the project. Two scanning devices have been attached to the ticket gates at London Marylebone station to allow passengers to scan their own phones and open the gates.

The scanners, developed by Cubic Transportation Systems, were installed last week and are already helping to save time for passengers with mobile tickets who had previously been reliant on a member of staff to open the gates for them.

Chiltern Railways Commercial Director, Neil Micklethwaite said: “Our mobile phone ticketing pilot has been very successful from a technological point of view, but more importantly, it has proved very popular with our passengers, with over 99% telling us they would recommend it to a friend.

“We have listened to our passengers and what they want is a simpler and easier way to purchase tickets for their travel. Mobile phone ticketing means easy purchases, anywhere, any time.

“Our high-tech gate technology was installed last week. The next stage looks at ways to expand this product to other areas along our route.

“Currently this technology is only valid with our popular E-day product, purchased exclusively from our website, allowing passengers to travel between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon to London Marylebone for £5. We are now looking at ways to expand this technology across a range of our tickets, following strong support from passengers.

“This new innovation comes in an age when virtually all rail passengers carry mobile phones and growth in both mobile communication and rail transport remains strong.” Bob Standen, who commutes from Leamington Spa to London Marylebone and is a regular Chiltern E-day passenger said: “I love purchasing the E-day mobile phone ticket because it is convenient and I don’t have to queue up at the ticket office.

“It is a cheap way to travel and also means that I am more likely to remember my ticket. I don’t leave my mobile phone at home whereas I was always forgetting my travel card.” YourRail Director, David Gillick said: “Since January, Chiltern Railways, together with YourRail, has supplied rail passengers with tickets delivered to their mobile phones. We are the first to do this in Britain. Now that Cubic Transportation Systems have joined our pilot, Chiltern's passengers can automatically board their trains at Marylebone Station by scanning their mobile ticket at a gate, much the same as a paper ticket or an Oyster Card. In the future we’ll achieve another ‘first’ when Chiltern's customers will also be able to purchase their mobile tickets directly from their phones in addition to the web.” Cubic Transportation Systems, who have supplied the gate technology, have long been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to fare collection and validation systems across the world, including providing the technology to TranSys that delivered Oyster to Transport for London.

Cubic Transportation Systems Business Development Manager, Rob Hughes said: “We are looking very keenly at the results of this trial moving forward, to see just how far the technology behind the e-day ticket can emulate the benefits for both operator and customer that the well established Oyster card provides in the city at large.”

Mobiqa CEO, Iain McCready comments, “With the integration of automated gate access for those with mobile phone tickets, passengers can take advantage of a more convenient and efficient method of train ticket delivery and redemption. Mobiqa are excited to be working on this initiative and look forward to evolving the UK’s rail transport ticketing system.”

ts.com Sales and Marketing Director, David Oates said: “We are delighted to be working with Chiltern Railways on this mobile ticketing innovation. We are continuously working with our clients to provide them with innovative ticketing solutions that meet the needs of their business and improve the service they can offer their own customers.

E-Day is Chiltern Railway’s cheapest ticket from Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon to London (and vice versa), costing a flat rate of £5. It can only be bought from the Chiltern Railways website, and bookings close 1800hrs the day before travel..

Source: Mobiqa