Anda: An Innovative Micro-Location Mobile Ticketing Solution Based on NFC and BLE Technologies

Abstract

Mobile ticketing services allow urban transport passengers to travel in a convenient and easy way, enhancing their travelling experience. In recent years several mobile ticketing services have started to be developed and launched, but there is still a lot to be done in terms of its effectiveness, efficiency and innovation. This paper presents a micro-location mobile ticketing solution based on Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technologies, called <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Anda</i> . This solution is based on a check-in/be-out scheme and requires the minimum intervention from the passenger. It is really innovative in the urban transport field, as it takes advantage of BLE technology not usually used for this purpose, it is based on a concept of post-billing with a fare optimization algorithm associated and it allows the micro-location of passengers throughout their journeys. This paper details the architecture of the solution and its mode of operation. It also presents the evaluation methodology that was followed during the pilot trial that took place in the Metropolitan Area of Porto (AMP), Portugal, during one year with 140 real passengers. A set of design lessons were identified as a result of the field tests and materialized in five mobile ticketing design dimensions, constituting important contributions to the design of future mobile ticketing services. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Anda</i> was commercially deployed in the AMP in 2018 and is used by thousands of passengers every day.