Worldline transforms passenger’s bank cards into transport tickets in Lyon
By Joy Dumasia
Worldline is deploying Open Payment on the Lyon public transport network (TCL) for SYTRAL Mobilités, France’s second-largest mobility organising authority, to simplify the purchasing process and offer more freedom to travellers in the 73 communes served.
Deployed in France by Worldline for the first time in 2018 for the Dijon conurbation, Open Payment is revolutionising public transport travel habits in many cities worldwide. This new method, which allows the use of bank cards as a ticket, is perfectly adapted to the new trends linked to “contactless” payment, increasing its use by more than 50% in France in 2021.
“Worldline is proud to have the confidence of SYTRAL Mobilités to deploy a project of this scale, which positions Worldline as the leader in Open Payment in France and which is also based on our expertise in this field in Europe, where we are continuing to deploy several projects. Open Payment has been a great success wherever it has been launched, and we have seen up to 45% of unit ticket revenues at one of our customers. Furthermore, this project is of particular importance to our teams in Villeurbanne, who will see the benefits in their daily lives and who are working with our partners to ensure the success and evolution of the project over the coming years,” said Aurélien Barbier-Accary, Director of Worldline MTS France.
The “TCL Bankcard” service is based on the Worldline Open Payment WL Tap 2 Use solution and its Yoval validators. Passengers assign a contactless bank card, either physically or through a smartphone or connected wearable device, to one of the validators to immediately validate their journey without registering or installing a mobile application. The system consolidates the various journeys made throughout the day to calculate the best fare, made up of either single tickets or a capped daily maximum amount beyond three journeys. Finally, a direct debit transaction is carried out on the bank account linked to the card used. In the event of a ticket being checked, the user presents their bank card.
Worldline is consolidating its position as a leading player in Open Payment in France with six projects deployed, including SYTRAL Mobilités, the largest in France. For this project, Worldline and the Caisse d’Epargne Rhône-Alpes (CERA) combined their payment acceptance and acquisition skills to offer a complete solution incorporating validation and control equipment, a central system, and a fully secure payment chain certified by the CB, Visa and Mastercard schemes.
Thanks to this launch by SYTRAL Mobilités across more than 4,000 validators deployed on over 100 bus routes, seven tram lines, four metro lines and two funiculars, as well as the P+R (Park and Ride) service in the Lyon area, TCL becomes the largest French network offering Open Payment and the first network integrating several transport operators.
Jean Chaussade, Deputy Director of Equipment and Assets, SYTRAL Mobilités, said: “Thanks to their unfailing commitment and their much-appreciated spirit of listening and transparency, the Worldline teams, together with those of CERA and the installer INEO, were able to successfully complete this complex project. Their concerted efforts mean that occasional travellers in the Lyon metropolitan area and visitors now have a new and particularly simple way of accessing its public transport network.”
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