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Flashcode: real-time passenger information
In January 2010, RATP started installing flashcodes in its bus and tram stops in the Ile-de-France region that enable passengers’ mobile phones to indicate the times that the next two buses or trams will be passing through, in real time.
Just take a photo of the tag posted near the line numbers, and the waiting time for the next bus or train will appear on your phone’s screen. You can save the link for direct access to this information in your bookmarks and subsequently check the updated information in real time, at any time and wherever you are.
Simple, fast and innovative, this service has already won over more than 130,000 users, and it’s only the start:
Flashcode readers now available on iPhone and Androids
To read (scan and interpret) the flashcodes, you first need to have a reader loaded onto your mobile phone.
Readers for iPhone and Android smartphones can now be obtained free of charge directly from these platforms’ App stores.
More than 70% of all smartphones on the French market are compatible and can therefore get a flashcode reader.
In addition, universal 1D and 2D barcode readers have started to appear on this type of mobile phone, which makes the RATP service one of many new uses now accessible to users.
How to use flashcodes
Each of the 20,000 flashcodes that have been deployed is unique and corresponds to a specific bus or tram line for a given stop, including stops that have been moved due to construction work.
In order to use the flashcodes and benefit from this information service in real time, passengers must:
- have a telephone that is compatible with flashcode technology (to find out if your phone is compatible, go to the user space on the flashcode site - this content is not available in English)
- have a mobile Internet account
- download the application for reading flashcodes (via the flashcode site mentioned above, or directly by searching for the flashcode in the iPhone App store or Android market).
