VDV-KA, Germany, Itso, Britain, The French Agency for Multimodal Information and Smart Ticketing (AFIMB), Calypso Networks and the UITP have all agreed to and signed the Smart Ticketing Alliance Charter which establishes a trust scheme that mirrors similar agreements in the mobile phone and banking industries, among others.
The founding parties hope the agreement will provide the platform for improved European and global cooperation. It follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2012 which committed the alliance to cooperate on developing smart ticketing based on the principles of Interoperable Fare Management (IFM) set out in the EU-IFM Project funded by the European Commission. They would also proceed with further developments in using contactless bankcards and Near Field Communication-enabled (NFC) devices, particularly mobile phones, for transport ticketing purposes.
The main goals of the alliance are:
• cooperation between national and regional smart ticketing schemes to establish interoperable smart ticketing in Europe and elsewhere
• to develop, agree and publish the functional and technical requirements for smart ticketing interoperability
• cooperation on the establishment of trust schemes, specifications and certification, and
• cooperation with other European and international bodies to promote interoperability in smart ticketing.
Full membership is open to national and regional ticketing schemes, and the founders of the Smart Ticketing Alliance are inviting others to join as full or associate members. The UITP will establish a coordinating secretariat for the alliance to offer a single contact point.
The founders of the Smart Ticketing Alliance
Itso is the non-profit distributing organisation which oversees the Itso specification for smart ticketing in Britain and helps members set up and run Itso-compliant smart ticketing schemes.
VDV-KA is the open and secure standard for electronic fare management (EFM) systems operated in Germany. VDV-KA-KG regulates the cooperation of various users of EFM at an organisational level.
Calypso is an open specification issued from an EU project to assure a high security level for contactless transactions and to provide technical interoperability between networks. Calypso Networks Association (CAN) gathers all operators, authorities and suppliers that use the system.
The French Agency for Multimodal Information and Smart Ticketing (AFIMB) is linked to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy and gathers representatives of transport authorities, users, transport operators and relevant public administrations. It is in favour of standardisation and promotes interoperability for fare collection.
