Parma: the bus ticket is made on board with AEP Ticketing solutions
TEP takes a step towards the digitalisation of payment systems
Parma, 29 March 2021 – TEP takes a new step towards the digitization of payment systems. Therefore Traveling by bus, becomes more and more practical and convenient, both for those who live in Parma and for those who arrive from other places and are not familiar with the local fare system. Just use your contactless credit card to travel in compliance with the rules, without having to obtain a ticket in advance. In Parma the novelty, created by AEP Ticketing solutions and destined to make a revolution in the payment system, will see the light on an experimental basis on the local line n. 5, which with an average of 15 thousand passengers a day is the most used line in the city. The new validators are already installed, though not yet activated, also on vehicles of other lines. At the end of the experimental phase, in fact, the service will be extended to the entire local network, which is already equipping itself with the necessary technology.
At the end of the summer, when all the city lines will be equipped, the system will apply the most preferable rate for the user. When the new payment technology is operational, predictably from September, the system will charge the rate at the end of the day, applying the most convenient balance. This means that for two daily validations, the software will charge 3 euros, the equivalent of 2 single tickets. From the third validation onwards, the daily local ticket will be applied. In other words, a passenger cannot spend more than 4 euros in one day to travel on the local network, despite the number of trips made. Therefore, the public transport service in Parma has become even easier, more comfortable and faster thanks to a technology that brings a payment system on board the buses that until now, in Europe, was available almost exclusively in large cities on the underground lines. “The accepted credit cards are the contactless ones of the Visa, MasterCard and Maestro circuits. Technically, paying by credit card or debit card is not considered an on-board purchase but a validation, exactly as if the bankcard were a multi-journey ticket.
In addition to the absolute simplicity of use, the system will offer the additional advantage of paying for the ride without any surcharge. Furthermore, the payment of the journey is a valid operation for the purposes of State cashback and will be counted by the IO app if the card is registered on the platform. Particular attention was paid to the issue of security: credit card data are used in encrypted form and TEP does not store any data relating to bankcards used on board. All devices are certified by the banking circuits. Once the activation on the local network has been completed, the project includes a further upgrade that will allow the extension to the entire province of Parma.
«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).