M-Ticket

Mobill’s M-Ticket application enables consumers to buy public transportation (bus, metro, train) tickets by mobile phone and get them delivered electronically to their phone. Tickets can be purchased and delivered by SMS, a simple and well understood medium available to all mobile phone users. M-Ticket can also be integrated with mobile apps. Tickets may include Mobill’s Mcode technology so that the ticket controller can automatically validate them directly from the mobile phone screen. M-Ticket is used by four major bus companies in Sweden. M-Ticket can also be adapted to aviation applications such as check-in, boarding pass, etc using the Mcode for secure ticket verification.

Customer Benefits

No need for coins or notes
No need to queue
Freedom from broken ticket machines
Anyone can use the service via simple SMS commands
In-app purchase from the transportation company’s app
No need to pre-register
Electronic receipt

Public Transport Operator Benefits

Simple to get up and running
No need for paper tickets
Operates in parallel with other forms of payment and ticketing
Cost saving through less cash handling and decreased reliance on ticket machines
Increased revenue via simple and convenient mobile payments
Simple ticket controller interface from standard mobile phone browser
Machine-readable tickets based on Mobill’s Mcode technology
Hosted solution with web access to customer service and administration functions
Turnkey solution capable of integration to central and mobile systems

How it Works

The service is configured to the needs of the transportation company. To buy a ticket, the customer sends a simple text message to a given short code number. For example, Metro Bus might use letter M for the company (Metro) and then a second character to represent the type of ticket required:

MA      Adult Ticket
MC      Child Ticket
MS      Senior Citizen Ticket

A typical bus ticket purchase looks like this:

Customer sends ticket code, e.g. MA, to the allocated short code number, e.g. 72054.
The mobile network routes the message to the Mobill Service Platform (MSP).
The M-Ticket application works out which ticket is requested and how much it costs.
M-Ticket communicates with the billing partner to make the appropriate charge, for example $2.00, to the customer’s mobile phone bill or prepay credit.
The mobile carrier returns success and a receipt is sent to the customer. If payment is not granted, e.g. insufficient prepay credit, a failure message is sent to the customer.

Validation

Three levels of validation are available, depending upon the needs of the transport operator. Tickets are often time-limited, and can also be programmed to be zone-limited.



Check, time, ticket type and price. Check the short code (e.g. 72054) is correct and that random digits (e.g. 777) in short code and ticket body match.	Use the online browser-based utility to check the ticket validity. Send an SMS to the purchaser to check that the ticket is not a forwarded copy.	Use a scanner to read the Mcode and mark the ticket as validated/used.

Mcode

Mcode is Mobill’s patented solution for machine-readable electronic tickets. Mcode uses a block of characters to convey the ticket ID and works via SMS or over the Internet. The ticket can be scanned using an Android app and a validator for the transportation industry is in development. Read more.

Customer Administration

The administration features in M-Ticket enable authorized users to get information about mobile ticket sales:

Search for tickets
Get statistics
Download operational data
Manage service billing

Getting Started

For managed service, codes for ticket types and zones are agreed and can be implemented within days. New mobile carrier short codes and charging links depend on local carrier lead-times, however in many cases Mobill can link via an intermediate aggregator to get services running quickly.

Mobile Carrier Billing

Initial payment is from the customer to the mobile carrier. The system is typically configured so that the mobile carrier pays the client directly. Mobill then invoices for managed service charges or turnkey solution support.

Cash flow

Other Billing Method

MSP can be programmed to use other billing methods, such as credit card. The customer must first register the necessary details and mobile phone number. At step 4 in the above example, MSP communicates with the Credit Card Merchant to perform the billing transaction.

Buy Tickets Via Mobile Apps

Mobill’s M-Ticket service can be integrated in to the transport operator’s own mobile apps, providing a way to buy a ticket without needing to know the ticket codes or short code number.Karlstadsbuss’ mobile app provides timetables, maps, live departure times and a travel planner. The ticket view provides ticket information and a simplified user interface to buy an electronic ticket, which is delivered by SMS.