Arriva UK Bus has seen the rate of mobile sales triple since launching its m-ticketing technology in 2009 as it appears UK bus users are readily using their phone to buy tickets.
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As smart phones become more prevalent the company has seen the uptake of m-ticketing rapidly increase. It took 18 months for Arriva to register the first million bus trips via mobile, but the last million were made in just five months.
Mike Woodhouse, marketing manager – Arriva UK Bus, said: “We have now had more than three million journeys made on our buses using m-tickets and we predict that, as usage continues to increase, by the end of 2012 we will pass through the five million barrier.”
All Arriva buses are able to accept visual mobile tickets, using an m-ticket app that customers show display to the driver. In addition, Arriva is currently installing new state of the art Electronic Ticket Machines (ETMs) within the entire UK Bus fleet, all of which are enabled to process ITSO smart cards, which is the preferred system by the Department for Transport.
Mike added: “The next step is to provide even more information to our passengers, including via mobile channels. A third of visits to our website are now from mobile handsets, so we must ensure that we provide the British public with a simple system that meets their requirements. In future, transport companies must look to supply not only their own tickets, but multi-operator and multi-modal as well; so whether its bus, train or tram, the technology delivers.”
“Going forward we are committed to developing Arriva’s offer and deliver even more power to our customer’s fingertips. Our aim is to make our mobile app a one-stop-shop, which not only provides pricing and purchasing, but full access to timetables, route information, offers, and real-time tracking of their bus.”
