Benchmark analysis of Smart ticketing systems. The transport companies point of view

Over the past 10 years, technological improvement and the development of the internet have brought the world to new goals in the transport sector. Although the continuous development of public and private transport systems in order to make modern cities more connected, transport operators still struggle with complex fare management. A fully automated smart ticketing system may be able to mitigate the above problems. The objective of this study is to find a way to help companies interested in smart ticketing systems in choosing the best one among those offered on the market. A benchmark analysis was carried out, identifying criteria to classify the smart ticketing systems and understand their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. Data collection took place through interviews with employees of public transport companies and with manufacturers and system integrators of these types of systems. Moreover, a KPI was devised that would allow companies to have a measurable value capable of evaluating the optimality of one system compared to another. Using this value, in addition to understanding which smart ticketing system is the best, companies can use it as a starting point to add further variables to KPI as the systems are further progressing and continuously adapt it according to the technological and pricing evolution of the smart ticketing.