NXP´s MIFARE® DESFire® drives smart mobility in Barcelona 4. March 2015
Barcelona Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) will use MIFARE® DESFire® contactless ICs for their new mobility card, T-Mobilitat. Barcelona’s long-term ambition to become a self-sufficient and innovative city through progressive urban transformation is one-step closer with the new T-Mobilitat card, which will provide over 5.7 million inhabitants of the city with easy access to public transportation. NXP’s MIFARE DESFire contactless solutions support this vision, delivering smart mobility services to more than 70 public transport operators in and around the Spanish city.
The new T-Mobilitat mobility card from ATM will eventually replace all the old magnetic machinery and over 70 public transport integrated fares that coexist today. The card, which will be fully interoperable with all public transport operators in Barcelona, will greatly simplify travel across the city and foster greater efficiencies in the transportation network. First trials of T-Mobilitat are expected later this year.
Multi-application experience
The T-Mobilitat card will also be compatible with other MIFARE® product based applications in Barcelona, such as Bicing bike rental, Bicibox parking bays or the car rental service Zipcar. This enhanced functionality provides users of the card a multi-application experience that truly reflects the smart mobility aspirations of the city.
In support of Barcelona’s urban transportation, innovative solutions provider Connecthings recently launched the Barcelona Contactless project, a dynamic mobile information system for citizens and visitors using public transportation in Barcelona. To move around the city more easily and get access to important travel information, citizens and visitors can use more than 1.000 touch points by simply tapping their NFC enabled device to a tag based on NXP´s NTAG213. Additional NFC touch points will be introduced across Barcelona during 2015.
“Autoritat del Transport Metropolità is mastering the challenge of providing a reliable and secure eTicketing scheme to more than 70 transport operators. Since the whole world is looking to Barcelona it is important to have confidence in all elements of the system. As such ATM will rely on the secure MIFARE DESFire which already has a proven track record in many metropolises such as London, Madrid and Dubai,” said Carme Fàbregas, CTO at ATM Barcelona. “In addition, product availability is important to us. By selecting MIFARE DESFire chips we can count on the largest network of card manufactures, banking IC and SIM card vendors who can provide solutions to our system.”
“Real-time schedules, accessible directly from NFC tags displayed on transport street furniture, is one of the must-have services for smart cities utilizing mobile. Not only is it a success in term of usage and audience, but it also enhances the overall visibility of contactless services in a city like Barcelona, thus, becoming an essential pillar for the success of mobile ticketing, “ said Laetitia Gazel Anthoine, CEO and founder of Connecthings.
“Urban transformations, such as the one we are seeing in Barcelona, are beginning to gain traction all over the world. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions and congestion many cities are looking to re-vitalize their public transport systems. Solutions, like NXP’s MIFARE contactless product portfolio not only create a more efficient, simpler operational component they also create a multi-use experience for travellers,” said Martin Gruber, general manager, business sector secure mobility and retail, NXP Semiconductors. “The experience and expertise that we bring with our MIFARE solutions help city authorities such as ATM develop secure transportation systems that are more integrated and easier to use.”