MIFARE

MIFARE boosts Security and Connectivity for Slovenian Railway Ticketing System 23. May 2017

NXP MIFARE® DESFire® product technology is key feature in multilateral passenger transport ticket aimed at simplifying public transportation

Slovenia recently introduced a multilateral passenger transport ticket, equipped with technology from NXP Semiconductors. The multilateral ticket is part of Slovenia’s 15-month project aimed at simplifying public transportation. The new ticket unifies different means of transport, and integrates the use of regular rail and inter-urban bus transport in Slovenia and urban transport in the two largest Slovenian cities in a single system. The modernized and efficient system provides commuters more choice and convenience by enabling people to use different types of public transportation without having to buy separate tickets.
For the project, NXP collaborated with Margento, a systems integrator that provides essential support with the Integrated Public Transport Consortium, to deliver a nationwide smart ticketing standard and solution based on NXP’s MIFARE DESFire contactless IC. The first phase of the project was rolled out in single subsidized tickets to pupils, students and adult learners in September last year.

“A multitude of public transit operators, many with dated public transit management solutions, tend to result in fragmented and poorly interlaced services, creating great challenges for the operators,” said Luka Gošte, business development manager at Margento. “Building on the basis of MIFARE DESFire, we were able to integrate all the various operators in the country with our own backend solution, thereby making public transit more efficient for the user. We believe this convenience can help shift people’s traveling choices toward more sustainable transport options.”

“The success of the project underpins the flexibility and scalability of MIFARE DESFire to advance ticketing systems and showcases its ability to meet the challenges of complex transport projects with multiple stakeholders and existing legacy systems,” said Christian Lackner, business segment manager for smart cities and MIFARE at NXP. “We are pleased to play such an important role in ensuring technology is no longer the bottleneck of interoperability in public transit development and helping public transport professionals strategize, discover and harness technology and innovation to improve public transportation experiences.”

The smart ticketing solution from Margento and NXP includes complete on-board, off-board and consumable products that meet user expectations in terms of fare, ride and ticketing experiences. The system supports back-office management systems by collecting, processing, storing and analyzing data that can help determine usage patterns, and thus provide quality inputs for future planning and development. It also enables automated fare collection and can help manage fare pricing.
Future development of the project will focus on optimizing the use of various modes of transport as well as complementing long-established modes of mass public transit with the ability to harness shared individual transport.

Read more in NXP’s official press release.