A case study of an Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network in South Africa, which lays foundations for an e-ticketing standard across the country
by Arnd Fritzemeier, Höft & Wessel
The successful rollout of the Muvo SmartCard marked the beginning of the modern era of e-Ticketing in the Durban region in South Africa and its introduction is being seen as the beginning of the end of carrying cash for bus fare in South Africa.
Commuters using People Mover and Durban Transport buses throughout Ethekwini municipality in by Arnd Fritzemeier, Höft & Wessel KwaZulu-Natal province will use the card to pay their fare. The card is powered by Standard Bank South Africa and introduced through its innovation arm Beyond Payments, who say the introduction of the Master- Card Muvo card in Durban will herald the beginning of the end of carrying cash for bus fare in South Africa.
As part of the new infrastructure, the Almex Electronic Fare Collection system with ticket printer from the manufacturer Hoeft & Wessel was installed by Almex Transport Solutions in all the regular buses of the Durban Transport and People Mover services operating under the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA).
The card is an anonymous debit MasterCard that is coupled with the National Department of Transport’s specified ticketing solution. It is also prefunded and reloadable, and can be used as a standard EMV MasterCard, as well as in a contactless environment enabled though the MasterCard PayPass contactless technology.
The launch follows the successful pilot phase of the MasterCard Muvo card on the inner city fleet of People Movers, in which buses were fitted out with electronic ticketing devices and the contactless payment cards were issued to commuters.
Kiosks were set up along Durban’s inner city bus route, where funds could be loaded onto the cards. Commuters then either paid for their bus trips by tapping their card against the electronic ticketing device installed on the buses, or presented payment for their ticket in the same manner as before.
e-Ticketing
The ticketing devices are now being installed in all buses in Ethekwini and 50.000 MasterCard Muvo cards will be issued to commuters, free of charge, over the next two months. Commuters can load funds into their cards at 20 fixed sales points located in the city, or they can do so in one of 14 Muvo vans that will operate along the various routes.
This is believed to be the first time that transit tickets are hosted inside a banking application on an EMV contactless card, and the first time that a card of this nature has been deployed in South Africa in full compliance with the National Department of Transport’s regulations.
This combination of card and service platforms currently offers services across a multiplicity of transit fleet operators with more than 200 different travel product options.
This solution differs to payment cards that are used to purchase tickets for each trip in that it stores tickets of different types, such as scholar or pensioner tickets, or tickets for different routes and journeys.
EMV contactless
National Department of Transport compliance also allows for the system, developed by Beyond Payments, MasterCard and Almex, to be adopted by any municipality. In the lead-up, the ticketing provider had developed an e-Ticketing solution based on EMV contactless credit cards from MasterCard together with the National Department of Transport (NDoT) and Standard Bank.
The Muvo Smartcard replaces ordinary tickets and makes cashless ticketing possible. Cash as well as multi journey trips can be stored on the smartcard. The card and the associated back-office system thus become the foundations for the new Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network (IRPTN). In addition, the system can also be deployed in other regions in South Africa and across the globe.
In South Africa, the Muvo card is the first functional e-Ticketing solution based on the NDoT specification which, thanks to its system requirements, is suitable for broad deployment throughout South Africa.
Apart from regular bus services, this can also extends to include the numerous taxis in the cities. The introduction of the new intermodal e-Ticketing system in bus transport companies in the Durban metropolitan region with a population close to four million is also seen as the first step in the introduction of the this new standard throughout South Africa.
For many South Africans, the distribution of the first 50,000 free Muvo card also represents the first encounter with a cashless payment system that does not require the passenger to have a bank account.
Safety
One of the objectives pursued with the introduction of cashless ticketing is to boost safety. The country at the southern tip of Africa is thus introducing one of the most modern payment systems for passenger transportation worldwide. The Electronic Fare Collection System for the innovative e-Ticketing system in South Africa was supported by about 700 electronic ticketing machines.
ETM’s were delivered to the bus transport companies of the eThekwini Transport Authority in the Durban metropolitan region. The integrators see good prospects for this new e-Ticketing system to become the de facto standard throughout South Africa, with the IRPTN adopting the smart card for its EMV contactless payment functionality. The card is issued by Mastercard, featuring PayPass, a contactless payment function.
Electronic wallet
This means that the system also supports payments by means of contactless cards when travelling by bus right from the start. The Muvo card functions as a kind of electronic wallet, allowing cash or ticket products to be loaded onto it at electronic Kiosk terminals.
Tickets can then be bought and paid for via the standard chip and dip method at a Kiosk and used on board the bus by simply by holding the card in front of the contactless reading unit.