TOPIQ #5 – Forget ‘London-style’. Why Mobile Pay-As-You-Go is the future

📅 Wednesday, 11 November 2026 | 🌍 Online

The future of ticketing is already in your pocket

London set the standard for contactless ticketing. But is copying London really the best way forward?

Former TfL Director of Strategy & Innovation Thomas Ableman argues that most of what makes London’s experience work isn’t the bank card – it’s the account-based, post-pay model behind it.

So why stop at contactless?

Join Thomas Ableman and Gian-Mattia Schucan, Founder & Co-CEO of FAIRTIQ, for a 30-minute conversation on why Mobile Pay-As-You-Go (MPAYG) could be the smarter next step for public transport.

In 30 minutes, you’ll discover:

• What really makes ‘London-style’ ticketing successful

• Where contactless reaches its limits and what smartphones make possible

• How MPAYG can simplify travel while reducing reliance on physical infrastructure

• What European examples reveal about the next generation of ticketing

If you’re shaping your organisation’s ticketing strategy, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Details

🗓️ Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2026

🕑 Time: 2 pm CEST / 1 pm UK time

🗣️ Speaker: Thomas Ableman, Founder of Freewheeling and former Director of Strategy & Innovation at Transport for London

🎤 Moderator: Gian-Mattia Schucan, Founder & Co-CEO of FAIRTIQ

🌍 Language: English

📍 Where: Online via Zoom

Ready to look beyond ‘London-style’?

Get Thomas Ableman’s perspective on what comes after contactless and what it could mean for your ticketing strategy.

About Thomas Ableman

Thomas Ableman is the founder of Freewheeling, where he supports the leadership teams of city-region transport authorities and operators with integrated transport and organisational strategy. He was previously Director of Strategy & Innovation at Transport for London, the world’s largest integrated transport authority. At Chiltern Railways, he led the creation of the UK’s first barcode ticketing app, and subsequently led the nationwide rollout of barcode ticketing at the UK Rail Delivery Group. As this report explains, he also attempted to bring Contactless ticketing to Chiltern Railways a decade before it finally happened.

About TOPIQ

TOPIQ is FAIRTIQ’s peer-to-peer webinar series exploring the ideas, challenges and real-world solutions shaping the future of public transport.

Each 30-minute session brings together industry experts for a focused conversation, practical insights and an open discussion, concluding with a live Q&A.