Octopus and oyster in the subway, or Auto ID technology in public transportation
What do Hong Kong, Zurich and Stockholm have in common? A bid for the best public transportation in the world. In a study conducted by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman and the University of California, Honk Kong was named the world's best city for public transportation. Second place in the ranking of 60 cities went to Zurich, followed by the Swedish capital.[1]
All these cities are betting on the development of public transportation, as evidenced by data on the number of passengers using public transport. In 2021, Hong Kong recorded an average of 10.6 million daily trips by public transportation, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year.[2]On the other hand, Zürcher Verkehrsverbund, the Zurich-based public carrier, reports in its 2022 report that 590 million passengers were served, 121 million more than the previous year.[3]A similar trend can be seen in Poland as well. For example; nearly 956 million passengers used Warsaw Public Transport vehicles in 2023, an increase of 11 percent from 2022.[4]
City residents are increasingly willing to use public transportation for a number of reasons, which are often due to increasingly widespread access to the services of city carriers and growing environmental awareness. In this context, Auto ID technology is becoming a key tool to support the development of urban transportation.
Ostryga and octopus get on the subway
Auto ID technology plays a key role in modernizing and increasing the availability of urban transportation services. By automating transaction processes, purchasing a ticket to use public transportation has become simpler and more convenient. Passengers can use electronic city cards or mobile applications, which, through the use of NFC and RFID technologies, allow quick and contactless access to transportation. Travelers, starting a trip on a bus, streetcar, train or subway, apply the media to readers installed at the entrances to means of transportation or at stations. The system automatically deducts the appropriate fare or verifies the validity of the ticket.
The solutions have been successfully implemented by many cities around the world. The first city to start using electronic ticketing systems on a large scale was Hong Kong with its Octopus system launched in 1997.[5]The Octopus card is an example of the use of RFID technology enabling contactless fare payment on various forms of public transportation, including subways, streetcars, buses and even ferries. The system has quickly become popular with residents and travelers, providing a model for other cities around the world that have begun to introduce similar technologies to facilitate access to public transportation. In London, on the other hand, passengers use the Oyster card, an NFC-based ticketing system that allows easy access to subways and buses. The situation is similar in Singapore, where the EZ-Link system is in operation, offering residents and tourists convenient and fast use of public transportation. Many Polish cities are also using similar solutions.
Pay by contactless
A prominent example is Łódź, where the Municipal Transport Company launched in 2017 a pilot program called Open Payment System (OPS), which is an electronic fare calculation system for public transport. Under OPS, passengers do not have to buy paper tickets or make separate city cards, as these functions have been taken over by their own payment cards. The project is innovative on a global scale. What sets it apart from the Transport for London system, which has been in operation since 2012, is a particular advantage: passengers on Lodz public transportation can use the same payment card as a ticket for more than one person, at different fares at the same time.
How does this look in practice? After boarding a streetcar, the passenger selects his or her fare (regular or discounted) on the ticketing device. He then brings his payment card (or smartphone equipped with NFC technology) close to the terminal, generating an active token - a digital identifier of the transaction, sent to MPK's central database. The card assumes the function of a ticket during both purchase and ticket control. The system stores data on the number of stops traveled, so when exiting the vehicle, we must again apply the card to the ticket counter. During this final stage, the terminal connects to MPK Lodz servers, calculating the appropriate fare and removing the token from the register, and then connects to the cashless payment network, debiting the passenger's bank account with the amount calculated by MPK.
Similar systems have also been launched in other cities including Jaworzno, Włocławek, Bydgoszcz and Poznań. The popularity of the method of paying for public transportation using solutions that use Auto ID technology is shown by data from Wroclaw, where 70% of tickets are already bought this way.
The popularity of the method of paying for public transportation using solutions that use Auto ID technology is shown by data from Wroclaw, where 70% of tickets are already bought this way.
Technologies not only simplify the fare payment process and reduce the need for cash, but also collect data that can be used by carriers to analyze travel patterns and optimize services. As a result, it is possible to better tailor transportation offerings to the individual needs of users, making public transportation more attractive. Choosing public transportation over private vehicles, reduces air pollution and traffic congestion on city streets. The implementation of modern solutions, emphasizes the role of technology in creating sustainable urban development and improving the quality of life of its residents, while taking care of the environment.
