Masabi supplies thetrainline with secure 2D codes

Rating:  System designed to work with any handset

A deal which will see virtually anybody in the UK with a mobile phone being able to buy a rail ticket has just been signed by Masabi with thetrainline.com. Part of the system employs Masabi’s EncryptME technology and secure 2D (Aztec) barcodes.

Masabi’s ticketing solution is designed to work in a challenging environment using either data or SMS to make fully secure ticket purchases – even in areas with very poor reception.

It supports a wide range of handsets from smartphones down to basic, entry-level handsets. The system is expected to rollout later in 2010.

“To-date mobile ticketing has focused on niche trials, but we needed a partner able to address the specific issues of a mass-market rollout in the [UK] National Rail network, ” commented Richard Rowson, product development director with thetrainline.com.

He added, “Masabi were able to offer a unique combination of security, usability, barcode standards and mass-market phone compatibility – alongside a thorough understanding of UK rail.”

The system will allow users to buy and display UK rail tickets direct from their mobile phones for any route on the National Rail network without having to visit ticket offices or ticket machines.

Using the application travellers will be able to search and then purchase tickets using a credit or debit card.

They then either display the ticket – including a secure barcode – on the handset’s screen or collect a conventional ticket at the train station.

In order to support this m-ticketing system,  rail operators have already commenced the rollout of barcode scanners on trains and at rail stations.

Ben Whitaker, CEO with Masabi said, “By combining our mobile technology with thetrainline.com’s ticketing systems, we will be able to put a ticket machine in everyone’s pocket – regardless of what mobile phone they have.”

In December 2008 Masabi’s design for a secure barcode ticket was adopted as a national standard by the UK Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).