Ticketing systems: innovation for the smooth flow of mobility services

With 1,200 ticket vending machines, 20,000 ticket validation machines and 1,000 transactions per minute during peak hours, we operate the ticketing system for the Île-de-France region, one of the world’s biggest multimodal public transport networks (metro, RER, bus and tramway).

Selling, validating and checking tickets are core functions of a public transport system. Having created the first contactless travel pass in the Île-de-France region, we develop simple solutions for passengers by constantly adapting to ever more complex environments. Both in France and abroad, our specialised subsidiary RATP Smart Systems (formerly Ixxi) capitalises on our expertise in Intelligent Transport Systems, and notably in ticketing systems.

In Saudi Arabia, we are implementing the ticketing, operating and passenger information system for the city of Riyadh, where our RATP Dev subsidiary is developing a ground network from scratch comprising some 1000 buses and 960 ticket vending machines. RATP Smart Systems will operate the ticketing system and organise the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) for the bus fleet and ticket vending machines. In 2017, RATP Smart Systems signed a first ticketing assistance contract in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) with Citrans, the new private lagoon transport company running 18 vessels, and has expanded in Mexico with the acquisition of Setim (a consultancy in smart transport system solutions).

Our two subsidiaries, RATP Dev and RATP Smart Systems, have also teamed up in Algeria to ensure the interoperability of the ticketing systems between Algiers’ metro and tramway networks.

The dematerialisation of transport tickets and travel passes on mobile devices, and their validation directly by phone, represents a major advance that is highly appreciated by passengers. We are developing solutions that allow passengers to purchase and top up their travel passes, either online or using bank ATMs.

For Société des Transports de Montréal (Canada), we designed and implemented a solution that integrates online paperless ticket sales with the existing ticketing system.

The Bi-Mo® solution developed by our subsidiary RATP Smart Systems, available on iOS and Android, allows passengers to purchase paperless tickets via their smartphone, to validate them when boarding, and to generate a QR code for ticket inspections. With SNCF, Orange and Gemalto, we have created Wizway Solutions, which allows passengers to purchase transport tickets and travel passes using their smartphones, and to validate them directly from their mobile device even if it is switched off or if the battery is not charged.

We put our skills and expertise to work on behalf of transport organising authorities for all phases pertaining to the establishment of their fare offers: consumer research on the consumption of mobility services and their alternatives, modelling of passenger flows, and construction of an attractive fare and distribution policy that maximises the economic contribution of passengers with regard to their actual consumption of mobility services.