Bern / Vienna, 16. March, 2023. The ÖBB Tickets app ofthe Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has been modernised and now features an innovative new ticketing function called SimplyGo!. This allows passengers across the whole of Austria to start and end their journeys when travelling by train, bus,tram or underground with the simple swipe of a smartphone. The correct and cheapest ticket for the users’ needs is automatically generated and billed in the app’s software. This is made possible by the technology developed by Swiss mobility start-up, FAIRTIQ.
A swipe on the smartphone screen when getting on public transport starts the journey, another swipe when getting off ends it. For years, FAIRTIQ has made the use of public transport in many regions of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland extremely easy. The app recognises the distance travelled and automatically charges the user. Optimising fares on a daily basis ensures that FAIRTIQ does not charge more than the corresponding day ticket for several individual journeys travelled in one day.
Through a Europe-wide tender, ÖBB searched for a technology provider for the introduction of GPS ticketing. FAIRTIQ won the tender and has delivered its automatic travel tracking technology, into the ÖBB project. The "SimplyGo!"function in the ÖBB Tickets app recognises the routes travelled between locations throughout Austria through GPS tracking and determines the best fare.
This makes Austria the third country, after Switzerland and Liechtenstein, in which public transport can be used nationwide with the help of FAIRTIQ technology. “We are proud that ÖBB has chosen our product to make public transport in Austria even easier and fairer," says FAIRTIQ Co-CEO and founder Gian-Mattia Schucan, whose team is constantly working towards further innovations.
Did you know...? The FAIRTIQ's award-winning technology has also been used to enhance the apps of several major transport providers, including Easy Ride from the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).