The rise of mobile ticketing and implications for mobility as a service

Nick Maynard from Juniper Research talks to VanillaPlus‘ Annie Turner about the dramatic rise in mobile ticketing and its implications for mobility as a service.

AT: How fast is mobile ticketing for transport growing and what’s driving the growth?

NM: According to our new study, users of mobile ticketing will total 1.9 billion by 2023, up from 1.1 billion in 2019. In comparison, the total number of digital ticketing users across mobile, online and wearable channels, will reach 2.2 billion by 2023. Growth will be driven by increasing acceptance of contactless payments in transport, as well as strong adoption of mobile ticketing systems by transit authorities across multiple markets.

AT: How and how much will mobile ticketing impact mobility as a service (MaaS)?

NM: Mobile ticketing has become a primary driver of MaaS, which is the future of urban mobility. MaaS is set to become the central pillar of smart city transport initiatives, which will lead to 60% of all mobile ticketing users using metro and rail ticketing by 2023. Our research found that cities that want MaaS as a solution to improve citizens’ lives must invest in mobile ticketing now. This is because MaaS is built upon smartphone apps, which act as the key to access to multimodal transit. Without the necessary mobile ticketing infrastructure being in place, cities will be unable to introduce effective multimodal solutions, limiting future MaaS deployment.

AT: What more needs to happen for mobile ticketing to fulfil its potential?

NM: While a strong force already in transport, mobile ticketing is still growing and needs to scale across markets. This is particularly a challenge across developing markets, where smartphone penetration is lower and the mobile is a less suitable way to access potential users. There also needs to be more work towards open standards, particularly in the light of MaaS development. The work of alliances such as the OSPT Alliance will be crucial to this.

 

AT: Which markets are adopting mobile ticketing the most quickly?

NM: We anticipate metro and bus ticketing to lead the way in terms of mobile ticketing, given the level of existing deployments and the momentum in that area. In terms of demographics, mobile ticketing will be stronger in the younger demographic, given their ready acceptance of apps. In terms of geographic areas, the US is seeing strong scale in mobile ticketing, with many transit authorities offering mobile solutions. The UK is also a leader, with particularly strong adoption by bus operators.

AT: How big a role will mobile ticketing play in new modes of transport such as shared rides in autonomous vehicles?

NM: Mobile ticketing is the obvious solution to accessing shared rides in autonomous vehicles, as it will provide the ability to check availability, request a ride and verify access to travel. Autonomous vehicles being used for shared rides will be using dynamic routes, based on live demand. Smartphones are required to power this functionality.

AT: Do APIs play an important a role in mobile ticketing for transport?

NM: APIs are becoming increasingly important in mobile transport ticketing, as the need to integrate with other apps is rising. With the advent of MaaS, APIs will be crucial in enabling access to multiple transport modes in a single app. At present, APIs are important connectors for enabling mobile ticketing streams into existing back office ticketing systems.

AT: What are the big disruptive forces in mobile ticketing; for example, will blockchain be involved and impact will it have?

NM: At the moment, mobile contactless is having a big effect on mobile ticketing and is driving growth in adoption in several areas. With the contactless rollout expected to gather pace in the US in 2019, we anticipate this to be a strong trend going forward. Blockchain will likely have a greater impact in events ticketing, rather than transport, as it will allow for verification and control over the secondary ticketing market, which is a key issue in that area. In terms of transport, there is some potential use as a platform for recording journeys and transactions, but current account-based ticketing solutions are already addressing this need.

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