Mobile ticketing is set to become ever more popular, and that’s certainly a trend Lothian Buses has seen in the last three years
Mobile tickets are predicted to account for more than one in two transactions on digital platforms by 2019. It is clear that the cashless phenomenon is set to do nothing but snowball, says m-ticketing provider Corethree, and with it, the ways in which people travel.
“The days of rummaging around in pockets and wallets for tickets for the inspector are long gone,” says Ashley Murdoch, CEO of Corethree. “Today’s passenger wants the ability to pay instantly, with fewer people now even taking the time to use chip-and-PIN over contactless payments.
“For most of us, having the capability to book a journey via an app on our smartphone alleviates the vast majority of the stress that travelling brings.”
The challenge
Edinburgh’s Lothian Buses saw the rise in mobile developments and the necessity for these tools in the day-to-day lives of consumers. Noting an increased demand for personalisation and mobile services among its consumers, it set out to cater to these needs as efficiently as possible.
“For Transport for Edinburgh passengers, travel is all about convenience and flexibility,” says Nigel Serafini, Commercial Director of Lothian Buses. “The smartphone generation ushered in a trend towards mobile payments, and m-ticketing has given bus travel the ability to become a part of this. For Lothian Buses, m-ticketing offers far more flexibility than any other form of ticketing media.”
The approach
With a customer base already well-established with smartcard season tickets, Lothian Buses targeted m-ticketing at people who currently bought paper tickets with cash, and who travelled regularly, but not so frequently as to benefit from a smartcard.
“As the industry leader in delivering mobile ticketing for public transport, we were very keen to work with Corethree to roll out the software,” says Nigel. “The unwavering enthusiasm of Corethree and the development roadmap has been clearly aligned with our strategic objectives for the product from the offset, and they continue to provide us with the standard of service that our 25,000 weekly m-ticket customers expect.”
The technology is user-friendly, secure and convenient; not only does the free app allow passengers to streamline the way in which they purchase travel tickets, but it also offers a range of personalised options for departures, journey planning and service updates.
The results
Lothian’s m-ticket app launched in 2013. With tailored real-time notifications to alert travellers to any journey interruptions, customer satisfaction has soared, and Lothian’s initial targets of 500,000 annual m-ticket sales have been smashed, with over three million tickets a year sold through the platform.
In 2016, Lothian Buses extended its contract with Corethree. The future is bright for the partnership and for the passengers of Edinburgh.
