Let the others wait in line

The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (transportation network) has launched its mobile phone ticketing solution. For a short while now, 300 customers have been testing the mobile NFC solution that RMV developed in cooperation with T-Systems and Nokia. Rüdiger Ilse is one of the first passengers in Frankfurt to make use of this on-the-go advantage.

When you ask Rüdiger Ilse, 46, if he would rather give up his mobile phone or his car, he is quick to answer. "I got rid of my car ten years ago, but I can't imagine life without my mobile phone," the trade fair project manager at T-Home says. Which makes him the perfect candidate to test the new mobile phone ticketing solution on the buses and trams of Frankfurt.

Your ticket in seconds

Near Field Communication by T-Systems makes the service possible. Mr. Ilse says, "I used to get frustrated, because I didn't always have change for the bus or the machine wouldn't accept my ATM card." Today, when he travels home from work in Niederrad to the Alter Oper stop in Frankfurt, for example, he simply swipes his Nokia test phone over a passive radio chip, or ConTag, that has been installed at the station. Within seconds, the software has identified his location and Rüdiger Ilse is able to purchase his ticket with his mobile phone. Or, if he prefers, just access the current departure times. "The new service is a huge help - especially when you're running late and there are lines at the ticketing machines."  Mr. Ilse hopes that the system will soon be expanded. "For example, it would be great if the system would recognize if I travel several times a day and just calculate an all-day ticket at the end of the day."