MIT.BUS, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Gießen AG, and the Heuchelheim-based company IPmotion are testing a ticketing system of the future between 1 October and 30 November 2016. Passengers on routes 3, 12 and 13 will also benefit from this, as the experts from IPmotion are installing Wi-Fi routers, which are necessary for the ticket system, in nine buses travelling on these routes. All passengers can use these routers freely to connect to the Internet - whether with a smartphone, tablet or notebook, without a login request or landing page.
The background to the two-month measure: IPmotion is part of a consortium that is currently testing the CiBo electronic ticketing system with Swiss Postauto AG. The routes selected in Switzerland are only suitable for IPmotion tests to a limited extent due to their distance from Heuchelheim. The IPmotion specialists therefore looked around for another partner for additional test journeys. And what could be more obvious than MIT.BUS?
"We are happy to help a regional developer of sustainable mobility solutions," says Mathias Carl, Managing Director of MIT.BUS, explaining the company's commitment to the test project. "Especially as we are very interested in this technology ourselves and, of course, because we can offer our passengers free Wi-Fi during the test phase."
What exactly is being tested?
IPmotion has recruited around 100 test drivers, mainly from the many students in Giessen. They all use the CiBo app on their smartphone. When they get on, they check in to the system with one click. When they get off, the system automatically recognises that they have left the vehicle. This is exactly what the WLAN in the bus is for. It transmits the data to a central computer, which maintains a kind of account for each passenger. It is precisely these digital processes that need to be tested in everyday use.
Such an electronic ticket is not only convenient. It also closes the gap between the single ticket and the weekly pass. The idea behind it: At the end of the month, every passenger receives a statement at the best price. "With CiBo, nobody has to make a commitment in advance," says Florian Kempff, Managing Director of IPmotion, describing the most important advantage of the pioneering technology.
Not only IPmotion and its Swiss partner benefit from the results of the test. Of course, the MIT.BUS experts will also gain an insight into the topic. "I'm really excited to see how this new technology works. Because we want to continuously improve our services, we are naturally also interested in smart billing systems and the opportunities they open up," explains Mathias Carl. The test will also tell MIT.BUS how many passengers access free Wi-Fi. This answers an important question. After all, those responsible at MIT.BUS have long considered Internet access on their buses to be a fundamentally good idea. The test project now provides the insight as to whether passengers accept such an offer.