Technology Collaboration to Enable Smart Transit Payment Solution

BEA Transit Technologies, Diginome, Inc. and GlobeSherpa Inc. today announce a new collaboration to offer next generation technology and customer-centric advancements for an “Automated Fare Collection” (AFC) solution. This collaboration will combine the equipment development leadership of BEA, the software experience of Diginome, and mobile ticketing and mobile payment expertise of GlobeSherpa into a seamless AFC system designed to provide transit agencies with the ability to move to an open standard payment environment.  This solution will provide cost savings, new revenue streams and greater customer convenience and satisfaction while improving integration with other payment options.  The companies recently showcased their joint solution at the APTA EXPO in Houston, TX.

The joint AFC solution will accelerate the move to a more modern fare payment system, including integrating electronic payments through both open payment smartcard contactless standards and mobile technology, allowing transit agencies of all sizes to move away from expensive and inflexible proprietary systems. This unique collaboration will provide a clear technology path to next generation payment processing needs – enabling transit agencies to redirect their scarce resources and energies towards their core business of providing safe, high quality transportation services.

With extensive AFC experience in major global markets - including existing installations in North America and Latin America - and state-of-the-art technology, the collaboration combines individual technological leadership to form a superior AFC solution that is affordable and flexible for most transit agencies large and small.

More than ever in today’s digital economy, transit agencies must extend their services to their riders in innovative ways. Open Payments and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) can create powerful business value for transit agencies enabling them to enhance customer service and reduce operating costs. The BEA, Diginome & GlobeSherpa AFC system relies on a sophisticated and standards-based application, with the heart of the system being the AFC equipment, account-based central system and mobile payment application, to provide the next generation fare media payment solution.

Components of the BEA/Diginome/GlobeSherpa Solution AFC Equipment
The AFC equipment specified in our solution has all the necessary functionality that a transit agency will need today, but it also incorporates all functionality and features necessary to allow the agency to move to a more flexible fare structure in the future, with Smart-FBX Fare Collection System, and the use of contactless smart cards, paper tickets and cash. This next-generation farebox will provide the capability to use QR coded and in the future will support Near Field Communication (NFC) electronic payment processing through a cloud-hosted ticketing application that can be used by any smartphone for a fare payment media.
 
The AFC equipment will allow the agency to accept more passenger fare categories, as well as accommodate new and more innovative fare programs than may be currently available.  The AFC equipment in conjunction with the account-based central system will allow the agency to incorporate other fare components such as on‐line fare sales through a web portal site.
 
“This is an exciting collaboration that will enable us to deliver superior and scalable transit solutions to small and large transit agencies” said Pedro Jimenez, CEO of BEA Transit Technologies.
 
AFC Software Suite
The AFC software in this solution involves an account-based fare management application designed and developed as a modular open architecture for on-site or cloud installation.  This suite will enable transit agencies to select the functionality they require for their fare collection system and back-end operational software. Whether the agency needs simplified fare administration, reporting, fraud protection, auditing, or a rider-facing ecommerce portal, the AFC account-based central system application will assist in a variety of ways to allow the transit agencies to realize the benefits that can be derived to support the future direction of fare management systems.  The existing and future components of the suite can be offered as standalone modules or integrated with the agency-existing legacy fare system to create a complete AFC software and ecommerce solution. The suite is designed to provide agencies with a roadmap to move from basic fare functionality to an environment with complete commerce and customer management capabilities.

Due to the seamless integration of the AFC equipment with the software, the solution will provide detailed statistical information and customized reports in a timely fashion, allowing the agency to effect appropriate decisions and actions with respect to their ridership needs in real time.

“Integrating BEA’s innovative solutions with Diginome’s advanced cloud-based Central System moves AFC systems far ahead of most competitors and removes the barrier of entry for any size transit agency. This powerful technology combination allows a transit agency to set up and change almost anything they need for their evolving transit needs, dynamically. It’s that simple.” said Paul Bertucci, Co-Founder and CTO of Diginome, Inc.
 
AFC Mobile Payment 
The AFC application provides proven mobile payment technology to the transit agencies, with a secure, mobile ticketing platform for the industry to allow a move to an open payments, open data, and mobile fare collection environment.  The mobile payment component of this system will help transit organizations integrate their legacy fare collection or ticketing efforts into a user-friendly, reliable platform to drive customer usage via applications.  This same technology will create an easy-to-use mobile ticketing system that agencies can use beyond transit for transactions involving parking, events, or other activities.

The BEA/Diginome/GlobeSherpa AFC Solution is available as turnkey mobile AFC solution or as a mobile ticketing module that integrates seamlessly with existing AFC equipment and software, while remaining user-friendly for customers.

About BEA Transit Solutions
BEA designs, develops and supports state‐of‐the‐art Automated Fare Collection (AFC) equipment, with its patent pending Transit Operations Management Systems in North America, Central America and South America. BEA is the leading transit technology solution provider for all of Latin America.  Currently BEA is installed in over 12 Countries, over 100 Cities, delivering AFC solutions & services to over 15,000,000 Mass Transit Riders daily.
 
About Diginome, Inc.
Diginome gives organizations a revolutionary way to manage information to automatically improve information transparency and manageability.  Our patented DataDNA™ technology delivers capabilities for ensuring granular integrity of digital information, continuously and completely, so that our customers can trust and better use the data they generate during the course of business operations.  In transit, Diginome transforms standards-based components into a highly-efficient account-based AFC central system that is modern and extensible. www.diginome.com
 
About GlobeSherpa
GlobeSherpa provides a secure, mobile ticketing platform for transit systems interested in moving to open payments, open data, and mobile fare collection with minimal infrastructure investment. GlobeSherpa is developing next generation mobile technologies using Bluetooth Low Energy and NFC and integrating those with our robust back-office business intelligence software to reduce the cost of fare collections and improve operations for transit. For more information about GlobeSherpa, please visit http://www.globesherpa.com.
 
 

Contact Information

Al MacLeod

Vice President of Sales

Diginome Inc

(1) 415-342-3120

amacleod@diginomeinc.com