Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ETC (The European Travellers Club: Account-Based Travelling across the European Union)

Teaser

The European Travellers Club (ETC) is a programme by and for European transport e-ticketing schemes or operators, travellers organizations and technology providers to create seamless account-based traveling (ABT) across the European Union. The programme consists of:(1) the...

Summary

The European Travellers Club (ETC) is a programme by and for European transport e-ticketing schemes or operators, travellers organizations and technology providers to create seamless account-based traveling (ABT) across the European Union. The programme consists of:
(1) the governance structure of the European Travellers Club;
(2) the technological development of our solutions (including standards and interfaces); and
(3) the European Travellers Lab to develop and test use cases, business rules, and interoperability across schemes and identifiers.

The objectives of our programme are:
1. Organization. The eco-system and governance structure must be developed.
2. Privacy. It is crucial to put the travellers in control of their data.
3. The European Travel Lab for testing and demonstration.
4. Authentication and Routing Hub. In order to give the traveler direct and real time access to her or his transaction data a fast and secure authentication and routing hub is needed. It connects the transactions generated in the field with the back office systems of all participants relevant to that transaction. Furthermore, for cross-border or cross-scheme interoperability the hubs must be connected when a Traveller with an account in one scheme uses services in another scheme.
5. Interoperable ID-Layer. The technological means to cost-effectively cross-accept and authenticate fare media issued by other transport ticketing schemes. Although interoperable ABT can function with multiple contactless media, as well as EMV- contactless, the ideal is for customers to be able to use any secure identifier anywhere. Because of the small footprint of tokens and the limited interaction with terminals, they can co-reside on existing RfID and NFC chips and be processed by existing terminals.
6. Interoperable Accounts Systems where the rights to travel on a specific time and journey must be stored in a way that they can be inspected.
7. Interoperable Traveller Interface. To integrate journey planners and real time journey information through the same user interface as the ticketing information. The Traveller will be able to use his “home” travel app to travel through all EU Members States.
8. There will be 3 Pilots with the following specific objectives:
• Germany: To demonstrate Account-Based Travelling for both regional and cross-border travellers on the basis of on-line planned and booked tickets.
• Netherlands: To demonstrate Account-Based Travelling for both regional and cross-border travellers on the basis of Pay-As-You-Go and Post payment propositions.
• Luxembourg: To demonstrate the integration of transport and non-transport services (such as parking) through Account-Based Travelling.

Work performed

The program has been extended with 12 months, in comparison to its original duration of 24 months. It is now expected that the program will be finalized by April 2018.

During the first months we have worked on further detailing the program and program management. The euopeantravellersclub.eu website has been launched. This site is used to explain the ETC, publish relevant documentation in the next period of the program.

With the partners in the consortium and interested stakeholders we have worked on the governance principles for the ETC as a separate entity. This deliverable, ETC statutes, was discussed during our ETC council meetings and is the basis for the actual creation of the ETC as a separate entity.

The ETC-Lab, located in the Netherlands, acts as a demonstration and testing facility for our program. We have tested the use cases of the Luxembourg Pilot. It is envisaged that this Lab is also used to test the use cases for the other 2 pilots, in Germany and the Netherlands. For the Lab an expansion plan has been finalized and the systems (hard- and software) have been implemented. Next to a test-facility it is also used to demonstrate the ETC concept to (potential) stakeholders, a permanent exhibition facility.

The preparation of the 3 pilots started and resulted in a couple of important deliverables, the Pilot Design Document (PDD) and the Pilot Plan. The PDD document describes the goals, interrelation between the pilots, planning of the pilots etc. and it is used as an input for the actual pilot plans. Furthermore, the document describes the process towards a complete overview and description of the use cases, risks, evaluation of the pilots. During the preparation of the pilots it has been concluded that the start of the Luxembourg pilot would be fall of 2016 and the start of the German and Dutch pilot would shift towards July 2017.

A lot of work has gone into the development of an interoperable ID, the Generic Secure Token. It can reside as a side-token on existing chip cards and/or other form factors. The first production cards have been produced and are currently being used in the pilot in Luxembourg.

In the fall of 2016 the pilot in Luxembourg has started. This pilot focusses on the multi-application aspects of the Account-Based traveling concept. The ETC software, both for the front-end equipment as for the back-office systems, has been implemented in a real life environment with the existing suppliers in Luxembourg (INIT, Scheidt&Bachmann and HighQ). The front-end equipment has been connected to the ETC authentication and routing Hub for Luxembourg. Next to that consumers have been issued smartcards, produced by existing card supplier Identa, with the existing transport application (VDV-KA) and the GST token (a special developed token within the ETC program). The GST token is used to open up the parking gate and to collect electronic stamps while using public transport in Luxembourg. The VDV-KA is used to travel with public transport. Travellers use their new app, developed in the program, to view their transactions and stamps. Once they have collected stamps they can apply for a new parking and public transport product, which is distributed to the smartcard by a counter clerk, using another app.

Final results

We envisage that the programme will have 3 impacts:
1. to motivate e-ticketing schemes and transport operators to embrace ABT as part of their service offering. The standards, interfaces, processes and technologies developed in the program will be made freely available to all interested parties, thus helping them to migrate better, faster and more cost-effectively, while at the same time reaping the benefits of interoperability, an open ecosystem (no vendor lock-in), and next-generation privacy.
2. more and more schemes in member states and regions will cross-recognize each other through the ETC, thus allowing their travellers to use their existing (home) account across borders and schemes.
3. improve and speed up innovations and knowledge sharing between such schemes.

Ad 1. In the past months (start in May 2016) we have set-up, together with Verkéiersverbond (CdT) and Creos from Luxembourg, a proof-of-concept to also include e-charging of electric cars in Luxembourg in the ETC system. This proof-of-concept is not part of the Horizon 2020 funded program, but is using results coming from this program.
Ad 2. Other parties have joined the ETC-council, like Rejsekort Denmark, Transport Scotland and NTA from Ireland. They are interested in our ETC concept and want to adopt account-based travelling in the near future.
Ad 3. We have started discussion with the European Passengers Federation to include them in our concept as well.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.europeantravellersclub.eu.