Skip to main content

Vix enables UK first for Stagecoach bus passengers

A new NFC Phone application developed by Vix is enabling a UK first for Stagecoach bus passengers in Cambridge. The innovative trial, which could lead to a nationwide roll out across select bus and rail services next year, is enabling the small cross section of participating bus users to receive, store and validate their bus tickets using their mobile phone.
June 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA new NFC Phone application developed by Vix is enabling a UK first for 805 Stagecoach bus passengers in Cambridge. The innovative trial, which could lead to a nationwide roll out across select bus and rail services next year, is enabling the small cross section of participating bus users to receive, store and validate their bus tickets using their mobile phone.

The pilot marks the first time that NFC versions of 3836 ITSO standard tickets have been commercially operated, with the trial contributing to the UK government’s vision to enable most public transport journeys to be undertaken using smart ticketing by December 2014.

The Vix NFC phone application enables a virtual card to be loaded onto a smart phone to be used for travel by tagging the phone against an electronic ticket machine as if it were a physical smart card. Additionally, the transport user is able to view the details of the ITSO transit products loaded onto their phone using its display, allowing them to see at any time the status of their transit products purchased.

“Smart phones are playing an increasingly important role in helping people manage their busy lifestyles and are already used across many areas of life,” says 256 Stagecoach Group finance director, Martin Griffiths. “We believe this technology can also make public transport easier and more convenient to use. Once this trial is complete, we will carry out a review of the findings and assess the potential to expand the scheme further for our passengers.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Scottish company produces motor fuel from whisky
    March 2, 2015
    A Scottish company has become the first in the world to produce biofuel capable of powering cars from residues of the whisky industry. Edinburgh-based Celtic Renewables now plans to build a production facility in central Scotland after manufacturing the first samples of bio-butanol from the by-products of whisky fermentation. Celtic Renewables, in partnership with the Ghent-based BioBase Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP), has produced the first samples of bio-butanol from waste using a process called the acetone-b
  • Init wins e-fare system in Oregon
    April 2, 2014
    In a project valued at more than US$14 million, integrated ITS and ticketing systems supplier Init is to implement a new e-fare/smart card payment system for the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in the US. TriMet provides bus, light rail, and commuter rail service in the Portland metro area; the new system will enable passengers to utilise contactless bank cards and mobile phones, offering more convenience and pricing equity. The contract comprises the delivery of a
  • Alstom consortiums awarded contracts for Cairo metro line 3
    March 10, 2015
    Alstom has signed two contracts with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) to supply the signalling system in a consortium with Thales and, in partnership with Colas Rail, Orascom and ARABCO, the infrastructure of the phase 4A of Cairo metro line 3, currently under construction. Alstom’s shares in these contracts are worth around US$96 million. Cairo’s metro currently carries three million passengers per day and this is expected to reach five million by 2020. Its network includes two fully operationa
  • Need for performance standards for road user charging systems
    February 2, 2012
    GNSS-based road use metering systems need performance metrics, as well as ways to test and reliably compare them. Bern Grush and Joaquín Cosmen write about the function of the GNSS Metering Association for Road-use charging (GMAR), recently set up to address this issue