NXP, Deutsch Bahn roll ahead with NFC ticketing
Deutsche Bahn and NXP Semiconductors have decided to continue their co-operation on Touch&Travel, a mobile ticketing scheme piloted on Germany’s national railway.
Touch&Travel enables train passengers to purchase e-tickets with NFC-enabled mobile phones. Customers need only tap their phone against an interactive “Touchpoint” station to select and purchase a ticket. Ticket data and payment information are transmitted through the mobile phone network’s existing infrastructure and stored on the phone. The fare is calculated automatically and the billing is done on regular basis.
Deutsche Bahn and NXP began piloting Touch&Travel in 2008, and now they say they are ready to bring the solution to the market.
“The ‘Touch&Travel’ project will be a catalyst for the deployment of NFC phones in Germany,” says Ruediger Stroh, executive vice president and general manager of identification at NXP. “By its early involvement in NFC, Deutsche Bahn has shown that the company is at the forefront of innovation and values innovative contactless technology as opportunity to provide high customer comfort and security standards by using mobile ticketing schemes.”