Jumping the Barriers
In the Nordics, Kogenta technology is enabling urban sustainability through seamless public transport.
‘Seamless’ is a piece of jargon that’s used all too often (and often all too misleadingly) in the world of new technology. In the world of mobility and public transport, however, the ‘seamless experience’ is a worthwhile aspiration – and it’s starting to feel like an achievable one too.
What would a ‘seamless public transport experience’ feel like? At its simplest, it would be a journey without friction. No confusing fares and routes, no struggle with payment processes. An experience where you leave your own front door and travel smoothly and easily to your destination without any interaction with person or machine, but confident that your journey will be correctly recognised and charged. An experience that is, above all, easier, cheaper and more pleasant than using your own private vehicle to add to the noise and pollution of the city centre.
But does the technology exist to support this vision?
It does, and Kogenta has been instrumental in its test and rollout. It’s called ‘BIBO’ – or ‘Be In Be Out’ technology. It recognises the presence and subsequent absence of an individual or device from a location or vehicle, collecting metrics that can be applied to charging, route analytics and much more.
Importantly, unlike other ticketing/ monitoring technologies, BIBO doesn’t depend solely on Bluetooth and external sensors/ emitters which are highly prone to false positives (are you on the bus, or in an adjacent vehicle, or just walking alongside?) but uses the wide range of inbuilt phone sensors to generate a highly granular picture of passenger activity. And it doesn’t depend on the passenger checking in and checking out – activity that can be surprisingly difficult when (for example) laden down with shopping or herding small children.
Similar technologies already exist, of course. In London, for example, passengers routinely travel around the network swiping Oyster cards or credit cards at points of entry or egress. But these are not seamless experiences. Referrred to as ‘CIBO’ (Check In Be Out) or CICO (Check In Check Out) such services require payment instruments to be carried – and sometimes these are forgotten. They require physical interaction at barriers, not always easy for people with disabilities. CICO and CIBO are are not ‘frictionless’ technologies, and still provide a deterrent to the use of public over private transport which is so vital to sustainable cities. A deterrent too to inclusive engagement with public life by the sight- or mobility-impaired.
‘BIBO’ is much smarter than this. A mobile app is all that is required for all journeys within the transit system, and without the need for physical checking in and checking out, BIBO reduces congestion at entry and exit points, resulting in faster boarding and disembarking. BIBO also opens up flexible charging options for operators – for example, charging based on the precise distance travelled, the zones crossed and so on. And it gives those operators a mountain of data which they can use to analyse usage patterns, optimise route planning and so on – again, improving the passenger experience and increasing takeup.
Kogenta technology is helping urban authorities jump another barrier to the modern sustainable, inclusive city and take another step away from congested, polluted urban life.
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Automated ticketing is just one application of Kogenta’s geo-contextual solutions. For more, including the use of geo-contextual insights to support post-GDPR advertising and marketing strategies, go to www.kogenta.com