Pay As You Go
When you take TapConnect PAYG into service, passengers simply use an App to pay their fares as they go! They simply push a button in the App to Check-in when their journey starts, and they check-out in the same way. Across all participating operators. There is no need to explicitly purchase a ticket in this full digital experience. At night, TapConnect calculates all fares of a passenger and the sum of it will be billed to their card which they have added to the App on first use. This user-friendly way of traveling will change passenger’s travel experience for the better. Residents and tourists alike!
Registration
Android and iPhone users download the white-labled TapConnect PAYG app., register their bank account, and are ready to use the App to check-in and out.
Check-in
Once registered, the users can check-in from the main screen of the App. When they click "Check-in" and there is a stop or station nearby, a trip is started.
Note that the user can also buy other tickets. A student ticket or even a combi ticket which also gives access to the Zoo or another attraction. After selecting a ticket a passenger must confirm the purchase of the ticket with biometrics, a PIN or a gesture. This makes it almost impossible to purchase tickets on a phone that does not belong to the passenger her/himself.
Supported models
Known fare: the most simple model, that is still suitable in urban areas, but also for clients that are just starting with mobile or cEMV ticketing. Each ticket has a fixed price.
Pay-as-you-go: this model requires passengers to check in and out. Once TapConnect knows both the starting point and the destination of a trip it can use time-based, distance-based and zone-based models to calculate the fare.
Inspection
TapConnect comes with an App that can be installed on most Android phones to inspect the passenger’s barcode. If online, the inspection device will send the barcode to the TapConnect back-office. TapConnect will check the signature of the barcode in order to check its authenticity. It will also check if the barcode is already registered in the system. If not, a fraud alert will be raised. If all is good, the validity period of the right to travel will be validated. When online, the TapConnect inspection app can also retrieve the entire travel history associated with the barcode, in case the inspector needs more information. As the ticket contains information like day of validity, start time of validity, and a digital signature, the ticket can also be validated offline.
Check-out
When the passenger leaves the vehicle and finishes its trip, she/he checks out by clicking the button in the app. An automatic checkout function that triggers when the passenger leaves a stop or station will be provided in 2023.
Payments & Pay-outs
Once every 24 hours, at night, TapConnect figures out how many fares a passenger is due. We charge their IBAN Account for the total sum of fares they used during the day. For this PTOs are operating an account with a PSP such as Unzer or Afterpay. All fares paid by passengers will flow into this account. Tickets that are purchased in the app may combine the offering of multiple PTOs. The interoperability module makes sure that the passenger gets only one ticket, while behind the scenes the ticket is segmented in parts to allow for fare splitting.
