In the world of public transport, trust is invisible, but essential. It is what makes passengers swipe in their app to start a journey without fearing being overcharged. It is also what allows public transport operators not to worry about system failure. And it is what keeps entire countries travelling smoothly, even when millions of trips are taken every week.
As mobile pay-as-you-go (MPAYG) systems become widespread, this trust increasingly hinges on a new type of infrastructure一not made of steel and concrete, but virtual and based on accuracy, automation and clever design.
At FAIRTIQ, we believe that building trust with our clients and their users requires more than just good technology. It rests on four key pillars: journey accuracy, intelligent automation, robust fraud management and user-centric simplicity. Here is how these pillars form the hidden infrastructure behind every FAIRTIQ journey, and why they set us apart.
The FAIRTIQ difference at a glance
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1. Journey Mapping Accuracy
Understanding the full end-to-end journey, not just the origin and destination with a void in between
For some systems, journey mapping remains a game of guesswork. A user starts a journey, ends a journey, and the system infers a straight line between the two. But public transport doesn’t run in straight lines, and neither do passengers.
The problem
These systems are unable to reliably tell if a passenger travelled by train or rode a bike. This leads to incorrect pricing, an elevated risk of fraud and, all too often, frustrated customers. When they feel unfairly charged, customers lose trust and often return to traditional ticketing channels.
And without detailed journey data, these systems can’t offer accurate refunds without risking misuse. This is a weak foundation for scaling indeed.
What FAIRTIQ does differently
FAIRTIQ takes a different approach. Behind each journey, we run a smart process called Journey Mapping. It combines location information, motion data, and—where available—beacon signals to understand how, when, and where someone travelled. But what makes it powerful is what happens next.
Our system analyses location and movement data against timetable data and applies optimisation algorithms and machine learning to:
- Detect the correct mode of transport – filtering out non-PT movement such as private car, bike, motorbike and even walking
- Reconstruct the actual journey – including where and when passengers transferred, not just the shortest path between origin and destination
- Apply the correct fare – based on actual use and local ticket pricing rules
Why this matters for our public transport partners
Accurate journey mapping ensures that public transport users are charged the right fare based on the actual trip made, not assumptions. It also means that operators receive reliable, anonymised usage data that they can leverage for planning, reporting and of course, fare adjustments if needed.
“Distinguishing between a tram ride and a bike trip isn’t a detail—it’s the difference between fair pricing and frustrated users.”
– Amandine Mutton, Product Owner - Tracking Squad, FAIRTIQ
2. Smart Stop
The feature that ends journeys, even when people forget to.
A common challenge in MPAYG systems is posed by forgotten ‘check-outs’. Users leave the vehicle and forget to end their journey. The system keeps tracking the user until it times out, often resulting in overpayment and frustration.
What sets FAIRTIQ apart
FAIRTIQ addresses this with Smart Stop. This FAIRTIQ-exclusive feature detects when a journey ends, even if the user forgets to swipe, and ends their journey automatically. It ensures that users are never overcharged and that journeys are accurate.
For those not using Smart Stop, missed check-outs can still be resolved quickly. We have invested in automation to review and handle obvious correction requests instantly, freeing our customer care team to focus on complex cases. This ensures journeys are corrected efficiently, turning occasional issues into trust-building interactions.
Since launching Smart Stop four years ago, we have cut the number of forgotten check-outs by half. That drop has reduced support requests and helped FAIRTIQ to scale smoothly across national networks, without compromising reliability.
Why this matters for operators
Smart Stop is not just a convenience feature but a critical trust-builder that ensures that pricing remains fair, even when users forget to end their journeys.
3. Fraud Management
A secure system is inherently more scalable
As mobile ticketing systems grow in popularity, so does the potential for misuse. Some providers have no dedicated fraud management system in place, opening the door to fare evasion. Others are unable to detect suspicious patterns fast enough to stop fraud before it spreads.
FAIRTIQ’s approach
Fraud detection is not just an add-on, but a prerequisite for scalability. Our system checks every journey in real time and around the clock, using automated, accredited controls. Certified by Alliance SwissPass, a national public transport authority, FAIRTIQ’s fraud detection meets high quality standards and runs quietly in the background without disrupting honest users.
Why this matters for operators
Fraud control is not just about revenue protection but about building confidence with the public and stakeholders. It allows systems to grow without compromise.
Today, FAIRTIQ powers national deployments in Switzerland, Denmark and Austria. These partnerships would not be possible without verified, trusted fraud prevention.
📃 Read more on how FAIRTIQ prevents fare evasion in this blog post.
4. Simplicity by Design
Complexity drives people back to paper tickets
No matter how smart the backend, it means little if the frontend confuses users. Systems that are hard to use lead to frustrated passengers, increased support needs and stagnating adoption.
The FAIRTIQ principle
This is why FAIRTIQ invests continuously in keeping the user experience as simple as possible. From a single swipe to start the journey to transparent fare breakdowns, our design philosophy is minimal yet thorough.
In our latest user survey* across Switzerland and Germany:
- 9.4/10 said the FAIRTIQ app is easy to use
- 9.5/10 agreed it makes public transport easier
- 9.1/10 trusted it to calculate the correct price
*survey conducted among 600 FAIRTIQ users in June 2025
In Denmark, just seven months after launch, 90% of users said the FAIRTIQ-powered Rejsekort app makes public transport easier, compared to only 65% with the old card system.
Why this matters for our partners
Simplicity isn’t just user-friendly, but operationally efficient. It reduces support tickets, boosts app ratings and fuels growth through word of mouth
“We challenge our product to make complex mobility as simple as a swipe.”
– David Wiedmer, Lead Product, FAIRTIQ
A system that keeps getting smarter
Thanks to AI and machine learning, every trip taken with FAIRTIQ feeds back into a loop of continuous improvement. Whether it’s refining transport mode detection or improving Smart Stop performance, our system evolves daily.
For partners, this means getting a product that doesn’t just work—it improves with every ride.
“Trust in technology comes from consistency. We’ve built the FAIRTIQ app to deliver not just once, but at scale, every day, for everyone.”
– Anne Mellano, Co-CEO, FAIRTIQ
Curious what FAIRTIQ could do for your region? Let’s connect
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