Imagine being able to buy a ticket without having to authenticate yourself with Face ID or turn on your iPhone? Well, it’s now possible in Lyon’s public transport system. Indeed, the latter have just activated the Express Transit function of Apple Pay. This innovation makes SYTRAL Mobilités the largest open payment network in France.
Towards a 100% seamless experience
As teased in the introduction, you read that right, Lyon passengers no longer need to reactivate their iPhone to pay their fare. This technological breakthrough is made possible by Apple Pay’s Transit Express mode. A mode that can be used with certain transit cards involving payment “without having to reactivate or unlock your device, or authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your access code.”
But not only that… In fact, thanks to the Reserve mode, passengers running out of battery will be able to pay for their mode of transportation, for up to five hours after the IPhone has been discharged. A constraint making the experience totally seamless, which can be used on electronic keys, coupons, tickets or even ID cards.
A technological advance under the aegis of Wordline
As a reminder, last May, Lyon’s TCL deployed more than 4,000 new validators throughout the Lyon network. From buses to metro, tramways and funiculars, all TCL lines were equipped with credit card payment. This dematerialized ticketing solution, based on the Tap 2 Use solution and Worldline readers, is estimated to cost 11 million euros. This was a significant investment, but one that proved highly successful, with more than one million tickets sold within three months of its launch.
Our open payment solution – Worldline Tap 2 Use – now goes one step further by allowing even more fluid and faster validation of tickets without having to unlock your iPhone, thus strengthening our position as a pioneer in open payments, in particular with SYTRAL Mobilités, the largest network in continental Europe.
Aurélien Barbier-Accary, Head of Mobility e-Transactional Services for Worldline France
According to the MacGénaration article, it seems that SYTRAL Mobilités would have as a next step to “allow the dematerialization of its monthly ticket to pass through the turnstiles by presenting its iPhone. A feature already available on Android models. And this, through the application “TCL E-ticket” which offers the possibility of importing one’s monthly pass.
