Juniper Research anticipates a large increase in the number of people using an NFC-equipped mobile phone as a metro railway or bus ticket over the next few years. Its latest study found that 13% of North American and Western European mobile users - around one in eight - will use their NFC mobile phone as a tube or bus ticket by 2016, compared with less than 1% today.
However, although the report notes that mobile phone tickets provide new marketing and sales opportunities, it also warns that NFC ticketing must be thoroughly tested before a public launch. In particular, NFC tickets need to be processed at least as quickly as traditional tickets to avoid queues.
David Snow, the author of the report, said “NFC mobile ticketing is still in its early stages, but it holds great promise across the entire mobile ticketing market. Metro ticketing is leading the way as an NFC ticket is a natural evolution from a contactless transport card and can leverage the existing infrastructure. Add to this the option of simultaneous payment and you have created a compelling user experience.”
Worldwide, 23 billion mobile ticketing transactions are expected in 2016.
[Report; whitepaper]