29 million Calypso cards sold globally last year
- By Vappereau Philippe
- In
Over 28.9m Calypso cards were sold around the world in 2019, providing public transport operators (PTOs) and public transport authorities (PTAs) with greater control over their ticketing systems and the ability to effectively fight fraud.
This is a vital step in our mission to provide all transport and mobility operators globally with the ability to deliver the best possible ticketing experience to their customers.
Why does this matter?
PTO and PTAs want to control and advance their ticketing systems in a sustainable and cost-effective manner. This is driving the demand for an open and transparent standards-based approach to increase vendor competition and ultimately lower lifecycle management costs.
More than 40 manufacturers are engaged with Calypso, 38 products are certified and we use three independent sources of chips, guaranteeing performance and interoperability for PTOs and PTAs. In short, you can have confidence that you will not be locked-in by a single vendor.
Why do we need transport-specific open standards?
Public transport operators faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. There is an urgent need to reduce costs, avoid expensive vendor lock-in, and improve the customer experience. Encouraging passengers to return safely in numbers after the pandemic is also vital to the recovery and growth of public transport systems worldwide.
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) estimates that 60% of the world’s population will lead urban lives by 2030. Catering for this rising urban population is a multiplicity of mobility options, including trains, trams, buses, electric bicycles and scooters.
If PTOs are to evolve their public transport networks to stay one step ahead of these customer needs, they need a simple option that cuts through the market fragmentation to deliver them a future-proofed ticketing service over which they have full control.
Interoperable digital ticketing will be crucial as the passenger transport market becomes more complex. To succeed, the transport industry needs to take control of its own future, with a transport-specific standard created by the community, for the community, rather than being dictated to by proprietary suppliers.
What is the role of the CNA community?
Calypso Networks Association provides a voice for the world’s public transport organisations. The CNA community for contactless smart ticketing is defined, driven and delivered by our dedicated members. Instead of working in isolation, we enable collaboration to optimise existing standards, bring efficiencies to our members and facilitate value-added benefits for their customers. These standards are created specifically for public transport ticketing and their strength lies in the longevity and scalability they offer to the global public transport community.
The Calypso standard covers the purchase, reload, validation and control of tickets and transport contracts. Manufacturers use the standards as a foundation to develop secure ticketing and access control products that can integrate into established systems; across different modes of transports (bus, train, parking); different transport networks (across regions and cities); and across international borders. Today the standard is deployed in 27 countries worldwide.
What does the future hold for transport ticketing?
Recent events in the telecoms world have highlighted the risks of public infrastructure being dependent on one vendor. If you put all your eggs in one basket you only set yourself up to fail. CNA as a community is working to drive the evolution of smart ticketing systems and will continue to help local, regional, national and global public transport organisations meet the demands of passengers.
The focus now should be on long-term sustainability and scalability. Today, an agile business is a strong business, particularly in a market primed for further growth: Global Market Insights’ latest report on smart ticketing estimates the market will be worth US $20 billion by 2026.
The transport industry is being digitised and infrastructure reimagined for a smarter, connected world. Ticketing is the gateway to growth, enabling operators and authorities to better support traveller mobility and connect closer with the customer.
Join us and the growing CNA community of over 100 members on our journey. Find out more about becoming a member, or get in touch with our dedicated global team if you have any questions.
