Valencia’s buses go cash-free with mobile ticketing app

Valencia’s public transport company EMT Valencia has launched a mobile ticketing app to enable cashless, contactless bus travel. It could also lay the foundations for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in the Spanish city.

To boost hygiene and passenger confidence amid COVID-19 and speed up journeys, the multilingual EMTicket app allows riders to buy single tickets without the need for cash. Once purchased via the app, passengers activate tickets on their mobile device and show them on-screen to the driver when boarding EMT Valencia’s services.

Josep Enric García Alemany, Managing Director of EMT Valencia, said the solution would support a fully cash-free onboarding service and allow passengers to manage their entire transit experience from a single app “anytime, anywhere”.

“This new app will not only help to modernise our services, but also offer EMT Valencia’s passengers a convenient and immediate way to purchase tickets,” he commented.

Cashless trend

EMTicket has been deployed with Masabi, in conjunction with Mastercard and BBVA. It uses Masabi’s Justride Fare-Payments-as-a-Service platform, alongside Mastercard Payment Gateway Services for digital payments, with acquiring bank services supplied by BBVA.

During the COVID-19 crisis, cash payment has not been allowed on board EMT’s buses to reduce the risk of contagion. An EMT Valencia spokesperson told Cities Today: “Technology has been trending towards creating a cashless society for a number of years and COVID has brought new urgency to this transition. It is a good time to take advantage of this opportunity so we must take a step forward and improve EMT Valencia services with technological advances. However, services must still be inclusive and accessible for the unbanked – EMT Valencia will continue to allow cash purchases at a wide network of points of sale throughout the city.”

Towards MaaS

EMTicket is only available on the city’s bus network for now but Masabi says its Justride platform offers an “upgrade path” to broader Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) which could enable Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).

“In light of COVID-19, provision of contactless and cashless payment options has become essential to maintaining confidence in businesses,” said Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi.

“For public transit, this means it is not enough just to make services accessible and convenient, every aspect of the journey has to be COVID-safe – and this includes ticketing and payment. We are excited to partner with EMT Valencia, BBVA and Mastercard to power the EMTicket app, helping to build a safe and seamless public transport ecosystem across Valencia.”