Public transport users could be paying for travel using their mobile phones by the end of next year with the aid of new technology being sought by the National Transport Authority.
The authority has issued a tender seeking the “provision of a public transport mobile ticketing solution” – essentially a way of applying the latest technology to its existing Leap Card system.
Such technologies typically involve a smartphone app that allows public transport passengers to use their phones in much the same way Leap cards are used.
The technology would work across Luas, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann and private bus operators in Dublin and other cities.
“The Leap Card is good system but you still have to have a card and you still have to buy it and top it up at the public transport stop,” said NTA director of public transport services Tim Gaston.
The authority has looked at a system in place in Northern Ireland, where a passenger can download an electronic ticket to a mobile phone from a transport provider’s app.
On activating the electronic ticket, it changes colour, allowing a bus driver or ticket inspector to see it is validated.
However, such a system may not be appropriate for monthly or annual travel so the authority has issued the call for bidders to put forward their best solutions.
The spec was posted on the Government’s e-tenders website with a deadline of February for responses.
