Ravenna: payments on the board of bus thanks to Aep Ticketing Solutions

The gradual implementation of the Start-up project continues

The gradual introduction of the Start-up project, the new payment system on board buses with credit cards, also virtualized in smartwatches or smartphones, starts from Ravenna. The new method is added to the traditional payment methods for travel tickets. After the tests carried out in recent weeks, from tomorrow on three urban lines it will be possible to buy the ticket with a credit card, simply touching it to the reader to make the ‘tap’ (the same applies to smartwatch or smartphone in the case of virtualized cards).

These are Line 1 (Hospital – CUP Center – IAL- CISL Professional School – Cinema City), Line 4 (S. Apollinare – Classis Museum – historic center) and Line 8 (Hyperbaric Center – ESP Shopping Center – industrial area – cemetery).

The project significantly starts from Ravenna, in the year in which the Byzantine city celebrates the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri.

“We welcome this innovation with great pleasure in the name of technological innovation that will serve many citizens who use public transport every day – comments the mayor of Ravenna Michele de Pascale -. The digitization of payments on buses will propose another quick and practical way to access the public transport service, marking a further step in the important path towards the digital transition. Once again Ravenna proves capable of taking up the challenges of the future, with energy and determination”.

“The future of public transport cannot ignore digital technologies – adds the President of Start Romagna Roberto Sacchetti -. We are proud to be protagonists, together with Tper, Tep and Seta, of this technological innovation that will allow our Region to align itself with the best international experiences. This is a fast and absolutely secure payment method that will improve the travel experience aboard our vehicles “.  

The new payment method is based on EMV technology (acronym for Europay, MasterCard and VISA) and will make use of new validators (Aep Ticketing Solutions) the same throughout the Region, easily recognizable by the emerald green color, which will coexist alongside the traditional ones, still functional for the other purchase methods that remain active and do not undergo changes.  

“We are collaborating with Start Romagna and the Emilia-Romagna companies that are among the best on the market and it is a great honour to be at their side – says Giovanni Becattini, CEO of Aep Ticketing Solutions -. This EMV card payment system, 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 physical cards at home “.

The project was carried out thanks to the digital platform of SIA, a European hi-tech company leader in payment services and infrastructures controlled by CDP Equity. 

“We are proud to have collaborated with Start Romagna to launch the new contactless payment system – the words of Eugenio Tornaghi, SIA Marketing & Sales Director -. Many important Italian companies are already using SIA technology to digitize millions of travel tickets. Our country is accelerating in the process of digitization and in particular in the field of mobility and public transport: electronic payment thus increasingly enters the everyday life of citizens and becomes the alternative standard to cash “.

Along the way, every time you change buses, you need to tap, but the system will charge a new payment only when the validity of the previously purchased ticket has expired; once fully operational, the new system will automatically apply the most advantageous rate based on the trips made during the day.

The new payment method is well illustrated by graphic communications on board, it will be announced and accompanied by a campaign on the social channels of Start Romagna and to dispel doubts a page dedicated to the most frequently asked questions is available on the website www.startromagna.it continuous updating.

Payment of the ticket with a contactless card is valid as a ‘State Cashback’ transaction. The banking transaction has no cost for the customer and is safe. In the event of a check by the ticket inspectors, the passenger who used the contactless payment system must provide the last 4 digits of their physical or virtual credit card associated with their smartphone for payment verification and validity of the ‘taps’ made. Cardholder and cardholder data are not stored by control devices. In these weeks, the assembly of the new devices will be completed on 360 buses of the Start Romagna fleet. Once the phase of introduction of the system in the Ravenna urban network has been completed, the project will be progressively launched on the urban lines of the three basins served by the company.

In a nutshell:

• Old and new ways of purchasing travel tickets coexist

• The technology with emerald green validator distinguishes the new payment method

• The ticket is always valid for one hour, in case of a bus change you have to repeat the “tap” which does not add charges

• The payment is valid for the State Cashback

• The verifier must be informed of the last four digits of the card used for payment

• The banking transaction has no costs and is safe

• You need to check that your card has already been enabled for contactless payment. The first contactless use must always be done from a ‘physical’ POS.