The public transport sector is experiencing rapid changes. The increasing adoption of shared mobility solutions and changing passenger habits, in part due to the pandemic, require public transport to adapt and innovate to meet new needs. Passengers want simple, reliable and affordable services at a fair price, and they expect public transport staff and authorities to respond to these needs.
The traditional method of procuring products and services is often based on solid internal research, but tends to neglect direct customer involvement. This can lead to a preference for solutions that are already known, leaving aside innovative products and approaches that have not yet been tried and tested. One way to encourage the adoption of new ideas is to use pilot projects, which allow solutions to be tested under real-world conditions. Pilot projects are an effective strategy for trying out new technologies and pricing models, offering the possibility of a conscious transition to more efficient systems.
In the ticketing industry, traditional methods are often based on apps offering different types of tickets or physical card systems, which requires extensive device deployment. FAIRTIQ, a leader in "mobile pay-as-you-go" ticketing, offers a solution that is more attentive to the needs of customers and transportation companies. Currently present in more than 25 regions in eight countries, with full national coverage in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Denmark, FAIRTIQ has handled more than 200 million trips and has more than 900,000 monthly active users.
FAIRTIQ provides an ideal platform for testing innovative ticketing solutions, enabling operators to verify customer feedback without having to install new devices. Pilot projects with FAIRTIQ help understand whether new technologies can work, gather useful feedback from customers, and prepare operators to launch large-scale projects or participate in public tenders with greater confidence.
Running a pilot project has many advantages, especially for companies that want to support the digitization of public transportation and improve the customer experience. Three significant examples are listed below:
FAIRTIQ offers public transport companies the opportunity to test its "mobile pay-as-you-go" ticketing technology in real-world situations. This flexible platform allows them to test innovative features, such as "be-out" (which allows them to complete their trip without having to manually check out), best price calculation, and how to travel with companions. With ease of use, passengers can simply check in at the beginning of the trip and automatically check out once they arrive, with the optimized price calculated in the background.
Fare policies are often complex and can discourage occasional travelers from using public transportation. Through a pilot project with FAIRTIQ, public transport companies can test new pricing models, such as fares based on line-distance (which calculate the price based on the shortest distance) or "fare capping," which ensures that users never pay more than a certain limit. These innovative solutions can make public transportation easier to use and more attractive, especially for those who find traditional season tickets or travel cards inconvenient.
A pilot project allows operators to test these flexible fare models on a small scale, gathering information on how they affect service use, revenue, and customer satisfaction. This is particularly useful for public transport companies that are considering fare changes and want to make evidence-based decisions.
Efficient transportation systems are based on understanding their users. A pilot project with FAIRTIQ enables companies to collect data on customer behavior and the use of new technologies. This information is critical both for implementing the system nationwide and for drafting documents in tenders for new ticketing solutions.
By observing how passengers use the system during the pilot project, public transport companies can adapt their methods and improve their strategy to better meet travelers' preferences. In addition, pilot projects can highlight any challenges or problems that might hinder adoption, helping operators solve them before proceeding with a full-scale implementation.
Two pilot projects with FAIRTIQ offer useful lessons public transport companies interested in innovation.
Munich's public transport network, Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (MVV), launched the SWIPE + RIDE pilot project to test FAIRTIQ's "mobile pay-as-you-go " technology and a simplified fare structure. The system introduced fares calculated based on air miles, allowing users to travel without having to worry about traditional fare zones.
The project was a great success: more than 1,000 users registered in the first 24 hours, growing to more than 3,000 by the third day. The upper limit was 10,000 participants, and the initiative quickly gathered valuable data on the behavior of casual users and their interest in more flexible and digital transportation solutions.
This project shows that simplifying fares and making them transparent, based on distance, can attract new users and make public transportation more competitive with private transportation. Operators can draw inspiration from this example, especially in areas with complex fare zones or where occasional users are underserved.
In Denmark, Rejsekort&Rejseplan A/S has partnered with FAIRTIQ to launch a pilot project with the goal of replacing the current tap-in/tap-out card system with a fully digital "mobile pay-as-you-go" solution. The project, carried out in the north of the country, involved more than 4,000 people and recorded more than 1,000 trips per day via a simple swipe on the app.
Due to the success of the initiative, a national tender was held to introduce a new "mobile pay-as-you-go" ticketing app, which was won by FAIRTIQ in late 2023. Thus, in September 2024, the new "Rejsekort app" was launched nationwide, which will gradually replace the tap-in/tap-out system in the coming years.
This pilot project demonstrates the importance of testing new technologies to gather valuable data that will be useful in refining and disseminating the solution nationwide. Italian companies can find useful insights from this Danish example to modernize their ticketing systems, demonstrating how a phased, data-driven approach can lead to a transition to digital solutions, improving the user experience and overcoming legacy systems.
FAIRTIQ is not just a mobile ticketing system, but a comprehensive and versatile platform that allows public transport operators and authorities to experiment with advanced technologies, new fare models and passenger engagement strategies with minimal risk. In addition to its "mobile pay-as-you-go" app, which works without the need for hardware, FAIRTIQ allows operators to integrate its SDK directly into their own apps, expanding the possibilities for fare innovation.
A key element of FAIRTIQ's offering is FTQ Lab, a testing platform that enables the development and management of customized pilot projects under real-world conditions. With FTQ Lab, companies can test mobile pay-as-you-go technology, experiment with new fare structures, monitor passenger engagement, and assess growth potential in both revenue and user numbers. All in a flexible and rapid environment that can be applied in both small and large-scale settings. This integral platform gives operators total control over every phase of the project, from scope to implementation to scalability, providing valuable information to prepare for large-scale deployments.
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With the "FTQ Lab" app and platform, new technologies can be explored, fares can be optimized, and passenger behavior information can be quickly obtained, all in a flexible manner and without the need for expensive infrastructure.
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