UK’s GTR rolls out first phase of network-wide smart transport
The first phase of smart ticketing has been rolled out on Thameslink and Great Northern services, meaning the service now encompasses the entire Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) network. Season tickets that start outside the London Travelcard area can be purchased online or at a station ticket machine to be loaded to the free smartcard, known as ‘the key’. The same ‘key’ system has been in place on Southern and Gatwick Express for two years, and is now operable throughout the entire network.
Growth of APPs development in Rwanda for mobile and e-ticketing
Rwanda is moving towards a Information Technology hub in the region as more mobile phone enable applications continue to be developed by the young generation, according to allAfrica. With the internet being accessible, cheaper and powerful (4G) internet introduced to Rwanda, there has been a growth in applications development, but communication companies in Rwanda have taken up this as a competition platform. Some of the app developed over the years include- educative games, culture, service sector monitoring, and e-ticketing among many others, but this has been with the support of IT companies under the Hack Out Loud (HOL) platform which gathers tech innovators, business leaders, educators, students, young professionals, and other shapers of Africa’s future.
Smart city platforms roll out for Dubai’s event sector
The Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) says it has completed the roll-out of the first of-its-kind integrated electronic ticketing and permit system (e-Ticketing and e-Permit), facilitating a single portal for event-related information, a complete digitization of event permit applications for organizers, and continued enablement of regulations to drive growth and competitiveness for Dubai’s event industry. The initiative to develop a bespoke dual purpose platform for events with B2C consumer facing and B2B components, offers a sophisticated city-wide solution for ticket sales backed by a centralized repository, and an efficient one-stop online application portal for all types of events permits. Building significant cost efficiencies off the scale of Dubai’s event calendar, the centralized e-Ticketing system allows the sector the option to leverage a white-label solution and create their own interface for marketing and distributing tickets for their events to their consumers, or alternatively, plug into it through a back-end interface with their existing ticketing application.
HyperCat launches IoT smart cities accelerator
IoT consortium HyperCat has opened a new accelerator program in London to encourage the development of smart city technologies in the UK. HyperCatCity (HCC) has been established at the Future Cities Catapult Urban Innovation Centre (UIC) in London, the area where many of the capital’s tech start ups are concentrated. The HCC’s stated aim is to stimulate the establishment of smart city solutions for what it claims is Britain’s largest regeneration project. Among the targets for the HCC accelerator are new IoT driven systems for utilities, infrastructure, energy, the health sector and public services.