Why Automatic Fare Collection Systems Are a Necessity for Modern Travel

26/5/22, 8:30 am

The next generation of smart ticketing solutions has arrived.

New platforms are changing the way Transport Authorities provide ticketing services and infrastructure, more than ever they are focused on providing a superior customer experience.

Often, the first and last contact a passenger has with a public transport network is the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system. For this reason, the customer experience of fare payment is critical to the overall satisfaction with the public transport service provided.

Passengers inherently acknowledge that payment for travel is a necessary part of their journey. As a result, smart ticketing services must be convenient, transparent, and as inclusive as possible. In practical terms, this means that passengers are offered a selection of readily available fare payment options that they can choose from which are convenient for them, not the other way around.

NEC’s Smart Transport Services division is at the forefront of delivering best-of-breed smart ticketing solutions. Gone are the days of needing days to implement fare changes, inconvenient top-ups at dedicated kiosks, expensive and cumbersome onboard ticketing equipment or costly bespoke solutions that require ongoing maintenance while becoming quickly outdated. What makes our cloud-hosted solution the market leader is its modular and open system design that can integrate with all standardised equipment and software used in the transport industry today and tomorrow.

For authorities and operators, this means unprecedented access to real-time information about how their smart ticketing system is performing, as well as access to demographic data to help better understand public transport users. We provide an easy to understand dashboard that can be used to improve services for passengers. Our systems enable authorities to discount fares can easily for major events, or in times of unplanned disruption; fares can be credited back to passengers in real-time creating trust between passengers and the network. Also, annual fare increases can be easily managed through simple backend solutions that can take effect immediately across the whole public transport network.

For the passenger, our smart ticketing solution means that they can use their phone, card and smart accessories such as watches to tap on/off and have the confidence that they will be charged the right amount, for every trip on every day. We know that this confidence results in more people trusting their public transport network and increases overall customer satisfaction.

To find out more get in touch with an NEC expert

"Our smart ticketing solutions are based on a modular and open system making them flexible in design and easy to grow and change as our cities and transport networks expand."

Richard Duggan
General Manager Critical Infrastructure, Smart Transport & IoT
richard.duggan@nec.com.au