| Siemens builds new bridges across the Rhine |
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31/03/2008 03:26 (680 Day 19:14 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Starting April 1, the 1.4 million daily passengers of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) can purchase their bus and train tickets by mobile phone.
The transit authority includes the cities of Bonn, Cologne, Leverkusen, Monheim and the districts of Rhein-Erft, Rhein-Sieg, Oberbergischer and Rheinisch-Bergischer county and Euskirchen. The VRS is thus joining the national pilot project that has been underway in twelve other major German cities and regions since April 2007. The Rhineland project also marks the first time that a barcode displayed on a mobile phone is being used as an electronic ticket. The complete IT solution was developed and will be operated by Siemens IT Solutions and Services with its subsidiary HanseCom. VRS passengers can purchase their mobile phone tickets via the internet, SMS or by phone. A barcode on the phone serves as proof of purchase – transit inspectors scan the code using a handheld scanner. Deutsche Bahn is also participating in the project for the first time with DB Regio NRW.
Since the start of the trial at the end of April 2007, more than 120,000 tickets have been purchased via mobile phone in Chemnitz, Dresden, Duesseldorf, Essen, Hamburg, Luebeck, Muenster, Nuremburg, Oberlausitz, Ulm, Vogtland and Wuppertal. The nationally standardized system was developed by member firms and groups of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) and Siemens, DVG LogPay and the Fraunhofer-Institut IVI Dresden.
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