One device for all applications
The growing digitalization of society places high demands on the transport industry. Mobile tickets, apps, portals, and virtual marketplaces: ticket vending machines and timetables posted at stops are long outdated. The demand for real-time passenger information, connection assurance, and e-ticketing presents challenges for transport companies. New interconnected transport concepts and intelligent IT solutions are required.
On December 13, 2015, the Westfalen-Bahn started operating the Emsland and Mittelland network (EMIL). Depending on the section, up to 10,000 passengers use the trains daily. With EMIL, an innovative ticketing system was also launched. A combined solution was needed for advance sales at stationary points of sale such as kiosks, as well as mobile sales on the vehicles and ticket inspections. To simplify ticket checking for inspectors, Westfalen-Bahn relies on a solution from AMCON GmbH based in Cloppenburg.
A total of 125 metric.mobile.POS devices were procured. Selling and checking e- and paper tickets, cashless payments, wireless communication, and immediate receipt printing are all conveniently possible with these devices. However, the software provided by AMCON was required to be hardware-independent and also compatible with other hardware products. The UFHO app, developed by AMCON, includes line sales, special tickets, route sales with paper tracking via barcode on the back, recording of increased fare penalties (EBE) with address verification, as well as a self-defined EBE without changes to the software. The control of online tickets, mobile tickets, and e-tickets is possible through the app released by the backend system without granting additional rights to the passenger service agent on the device. With a glance at the ergonomic inspection device, the ticket inspector can see whether a valid travel authorization exists.
The device can natively work with tariff data in the manufacturer-independent standard interface format for public transport (HUSST format) and can also process the vending machine data in the metric-X10 format without conversion, making it excellently suited for use in passenger transport. To process additional tariff formats without conversion, the AMCON tariff abstraction layer 3.0 (TAL) is used. TAL is a separate layer that maps tariffs hardware-independently and can be used on various output devices and operating systems via the presentation layer.
The integrated 1D barcode scanner for paper tracking especially convinced the new operators of the EMIL network. Each printed ticket is uniquely identifiable by a barcode on the back. Thanks to the Android operating system, existing apps could be used immediately. The simple user interface and large screen make ticket selling and checking significantly easier and, above all, faster. For Westfalen-Bahn, these were the convincing arguments.