Skip to main content

Masabi named as finalist for global mobile award

The JustRide end-to-end Smartphone Ticketing system for transit developed by mobile transport ticketing supplier Masabi has been named as a finalist in this year's Global Mobile Awards in the Best Mobile Innovation for Smart Cities category alongside AT&T, Vodafone, Huawei, Streetline and ZTE. The first JustRide system was launched on Boston's commuter rail network in November 2012 and, says the company, within seven weeks had already sold more than 100,000 tickets and now accounts for almost 10 per cent of
February 7, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
The JustRide end-to-end Smartphone Ticketing system for transit developed by mobile transport ticketing supplier 6870 Masabi has been named as a finalist in this year's Global Mobile Awards in the Best Mobile Innovation for Smart Cities category alongside AT&T, 813 Vodafone, 6787 Huawei, 579 Streetline and ZTE.

The first JustRide system was launched on Boston's commuter rail network in November 2012 and, says the company, within seven weeks had already sold more than 100,000 tickets and now accounts for almost 10 per cent of total sales.

The Boston system is the US's first full Smartphone commuter rail ticketing system allowing customers to use the MBTA iPhone and Android mTicket apps to purchase and then display rail tickets. Tickets are displayed on the phone's screen as an encrypted barcode and as a human readable ticket. The app can be found by searching for 'MBTA mTicket' in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Masabi technology is also used by over 13 UK transit agencies and retail brands including: Virgin Trains, 6635 First Group, CrossCountry Trains and thetrainline.com.

The Global Mobile Awards, which recognise excellence and innovation within the mobile communications industry, will be presented at the 2246 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 26th February 2013. The awards are judged by a panel of independent experts, analysts, journalists, academics and, in some cases, mobile operator representatives.

"The competition this year was of an exceptionally high quality, breaking all previous records," said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA. "Our judging panel has assessed well over 600 entries and nominations for the 37 awards, the largest ever number of honours to be presented at the Global Mobile Awards. It is a tremendous achievement to have been shortlisted and we look forward to recognising the winners at Mobile World Congress next month."

"Since launching late last year the feedback from passengers using our Boston system has been terrific. At the same time it has shown other transit agencies the significant cost and service benefits that smartphone ticketing can bring," said Ben Whitaker, CEO of Masabi. "We are delighted and honoured to be named alongside mobile industry leaders on this short list and look forward to bringing JustRide to other cities, both across the US and globally."

According to Masabi, its JustRide system allows transit agencies to rapidly roll-out a deployment-proven comprehensive mTicketing solution including: consumer-facing applications, management console, backend servers, payment integration and scanning/validation software for conductors. It can be deployed in a matter of months, benefiting from a flexible cloud based-architecture and Masabi's experience in delivering mobile ticketing systems for major transport brands.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US small business research program to develop pedestrian traffic signal app
    October 26, 2015
    With the growing numbers of pedestrian fatalities in mind, the Federal Highway Administration, through the US Department of ‘Transportation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, awarded a contract to Savari to develop SmartCross, a traffic signal interface app for smartphones. The SmartCross application interfaces with traffic signal systems that control the traffic lights and receives information about the pedestrian signal. Sending signals between the pedestrian’s phone and the nearest t
  • China to ‘see unparalleled urban growth by 2025’
    November 7, 2012
    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, New Mega Trends in China: Macro to Micro Implications of Mega Trends to 2025, says that China is set to become the largest economy in the world by 2025 with a nominal GDP value of US$38 trillion. Fuelled by a strong urbanisation rate, a favourable corporate environment, huge infrastructure investment and the largest working age population, the Chinese economy will finally transform itself from being the manufacturing site of the globe to one of the biggest and largest con
  • Will mobile apps kick-start mobility pricing?
    January 5, 2016
    Thomas Hallauer from Ptolemus believes trials of connected road charging services will show the pay per mile concept will go much further than previously thought. Drivers are progressively becoming directly connected to the transport infrastructure and while the methods are changing, the innovation is really in the models rather than the technology.
  • Sustainability and inclusivity: a multimodal approach from EIT Urban Mobility
    January 2, 2024
    Cities are frontrunners of the green transition. But scaling sustainable transport solutions quickly is going to require cooperation, says Maria Tsavachidis of EIT Urban Mobility