ITALY: Kuba has rolled out an open-loop fare payment system covering the Firenze tramway and bus services in Toscana, saying it is the largest deployment of its kind in Europe covering 273 cities and towns.
The system which went live on March 28 is an extension of an account-based ticketing system deployed by Kuba in 2021 when Autolinee Toscane took over the region’s bus network. This was previously managed by 23 companies and had eight different ticketing systems.
More than 6 000 cEMV-enabled Kuba validators have been installed on over 3 000 buses and 40 trams. Passengers tap their bank card or smart device on a validator as they board. On some services, they tap a validator again as they exit. Fares are calculated in the back office, with contactless payments processed by specialist payment service provider Littlepay.
Autolinee Toscane worked with Visa to launch an extensive marketing campaign, which included free rides to passengers using contactless between April 10 and May 5.
‘Contactess payment using a card or smartphone is proving popular, in particular with people who don’t ride our buses regularly and those visiting Toscana from overseas’, said Tommaso Rosa, Head of Marketing, Brand & Communication at Autolinee Toscane. ‘They don’t have to understand the ticketing system to hop on a bus and travel around cities, or from one city to another.’
