Vix Technology Wins Best Smart Ticketing Programme Award at TT Global 2018

Vix Technology is proud to have won the Best Smart Ticketing Programme award at TT Global 2018. Vix was shortlisted at the annual awards ceremony in recognition of our work with Stagecoach Group.

This award category recognizes a transport operator or local authority that has launched a successful smart ticketing programme in the last 12 months – be that smart card, mobile or contactless – and takes into account the service’s user-adoption, duration and sustainability.

Vix’s collaboration with Stagecoach, particularly the 2017 deployment of contactless EMV (cEMV) across its bus fleet, ticks all the boxes for this award, and has demonstrated significant success since its implementation.

The UK’s biggest bus operator, Stagecoach carries some 3 million passengers each day on its multi-modal transit network. Prior to the partnership with Vix, Stagecoach could only accept cash or pre-purchased smart products from passengers, which led the group to seek a solution which enabled smarter ways to pay and raised convenience for its customers.

In October 2016, this goal became reality with the deployment of cEMV technology on 200 buses in Oxford, putting the city and its transit system ahead of competitors and becoming the first operator outside of London to have cEMV on its fleet.

Vix’s cEMV solution has given Stagecoach on-board ticket machines that enable the purchase of paper and smart products, using contactless credit or debit cards as well as Apple Pay and Android Pay for no additional charge, making it easier than ever for passengers to catch the bus.

In December 2016, cEMV rolled out in the North East of England, to Ashford and Kent and Tyne and Wear. In March 2017, Stagecoach Manchester became the first bus operator in the region to offer customers the option to pay for their travel via contactless payments. In June 2017, deployment reached Stagecoach’s fleet in Yorkshire on more than 430 buses, followed by over 470 buses in Merseyside and South Lancashire in July.

In total, over 4,000 ticket machines have already been deployed on schedule. With a further 3,200 devices set to be delivered in the coming year, Vix – alongside Stagecoach – will continue with this pace of innovation.

Prior to the ceremony, Aaron Ross, Vix’s Managing Director Europe & Africa, said of being shortlisted: ‘The TT Global awards recognise true innovation in the public transportation space. As a pioneer in creating and implementing groundbreaking ticketing technologies, we are delighted to have been shortlisted in the Best Smart Ticketing Programme category for the important work we are doing with the Stagecoach Group.

‘We are proud to play a pivotal role in the group’s evolution as it strives towards its vision of delivering greener, smarter travel to its customers. This project is already bringing real benefits to passengers, and upon a complete roll-out by the end of 2018, a staggering 7,200 buses across England, Scotland and Wales will feature our state-of-the-art technology.

‘This award nomination underscores our active commitment to delivering better customer journeys and further cements our position as a ticketing technology leader in the global public transportation space.’

The awards ceremony took place on 23 January at Landing Forty Two, in the heart of London, alongside the TT Global conference – the UK’s largest gathering of transport ticketing professionals – held at London’s Old Billingsgate from 23-24 January. Congratulations to the winners and to all those who were shortlisted for awards!