Carpi and Sassuolo: bus ticket on board with Aep Ticketing Solutions

Seta is now taking a step forward towards the digitization of payment systems

From today on the SETA buses of the Carpi and Sassuolo local lines it is possible to pay for the simple journey on board using the contactless credit card, even in a virtualized version on a smartphone or smartwatch, at no additional cost and without registering in advance. The novelty, created by the Florentine company Aep Ticketing Solutions, is added and integrates those already normally available, is activated due to the digital revolution launched by the Emilia-Romagna Region which involves, in addition to SETA, also the other public transport companies operating on the regional territory.

Traveling by bus therefore becomes much easier, more comfortable and safer thanks to the new electronic validators positioned on all SETA vehicles in service on the local networks of Carpi and Sassoli: the company has decided to activate this service on an experimental basis starting from two territorial realities that , due to the size of the network and the fleet, they have more suitable characteristics. In addition, thanks to the full coverage of the local network, users can also make the interchange between buses operating on different lines using this innovative technology.

At the end of the experimental phase, the contactless payment service will also be extended to the local networks of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Piacenza in the coming months. By 2021, the system will be available on all city lines of the three capitals. After the completion of the experimentation on local services, the extension to suburban vehicles is also expected by the end of 2022. Paying for the trip with your contactless credit card is extremely simple. Just touch the card to the green validator and wait for the indication of successful recognition of the title to appear on the display (green light, sound and text message of confirmation). The cost of the single urban ticket purchased on board with a credit card remains unchanged (for Carpi and Sassuolo: 1.20 euros, valid for 75 minutes). Even in case of a bus change, during the period of validity from the first validation, there is no risk of paying twice: just remember to pass the card to the validator when you get on each bus and the system will automatically check the time validity of the ticket.

To check when the ticket was stamped and what is the remaining validity, just touch the Title Info button on the validator and bring the card: the data of the last validation will appear on the display. In addition to the ease with which, it can be obtained, total security and confidentiality of transactions is guaranteed thanks to the approval of the validators according to the requirements of the POS terminals. Furthermore, payment of the bus ride using contactless cards is also a valid operation for the purposes of state cashback.

The new green validators will complement those already present on the SETA vehicles, which remain active for the validation of all other paper titles and cards, as well as on-board purchase via the issuing machine. The new devices were purchased through a joint regional tender which saw the participation of the four Emilia-Romagna companies (in addition to SETA, Start Romagna, Tep and Tper in the role of leader), which – for the first phase of activation on urban services – involved the purchase of 1500 validators (390 for SETA) for a total amount, 50% co-financed by the Emilia-Romagna Region, of 3 million and 275 thousand euros (of which 828 thousand euros the investment supported by SETA).

The project was carried out by Aep Ticketing Solutions, the most important Italian company producing systems and equipment for electronic ticketing for public transport, uses the electronic payment services offered by SIA, a leading European hi-tech company in services and infrastructures of the payment system controlled by CDP Equity.

«A great result achieved in difficult times – commented Giovanni Becattini, CEO of Aep Ticketing Solutions -. I remember that this payment system with EMV cards, which is in addition to the many others we have made in Italy and abroad, also accepts virtualized cards on smartphones and therefore allows you to leave plastic cards at home “.

In Italy there are already many cities that use Aep’s electronic ticketing systems, starting from Florence (Ataf), Bologna (Tper), Turin (Gtt), Lucca (Ctt Nord), to arrive also in Siena and San Gimignano, Arezzo, Grosseto (with Tiemme spa).