EANS-News: Hoeft & Wessel revolutionises e-Ticketing in public transport (with photo)

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New Products

Subtitle: - New e-Ticketing system for check-in/check-out with NFC
credit card - High-speed boarding without prior registration - Now
passengers only need an NFC credit card

Hannover, Germany / Swindon, UK, 29/09/2011. (euro adhoc) - Long
waiting times when buying tickets on buses and trains are now a thing
of the past - at least for customers of Hoeft & Wessel: for the first
time ever, the IT specialist will provide them with a new Almex
e-Ticketing system for convenient, contactless payment by credit card
without prior registration. "This super-fast ticketing system will
practically revolutionise the public transport system. All passengers
will soon need is a credit card with NFC functionality to be able to
board the means of transport of their choice immediately. What this
means in practice is boarding, holding the card in front of the
reading device and starting the journey. After holding the card in
front of a reader at the end of the journey the best fares will be
calculated and charged. There really is no simpler solution",
explains Thomas Wolf, member of the Board of Management of the Hoeft
& Wessel Group, the benefits of the new system. Hoeft & Wessel
provides this exclusive comfort for drivers and passengers with the
aid of high-end on-board computers with integrated ticket printers of
the type almex.optima in the business line version (bl) and
electronic validator of the almex.smartfare series. With the new NFC
ticketing system it was possible to minimise the transaction time
required for identification of the credit card or the e-Ticket, which
now amounts to less than 500 milliseconds.

A prerequisite for this is a credit card with EMV contactless
functionality, an RFID technology for what is known as Near Field
Communication (NFC). This form of payment has been offered by large
credit card organisations since recently. The e-Ticketing solution
used in the United Kingdom is based on the latest and, hence, fastest
version ITSO 2.1.4, which reduces boarding times substantially. In
addition, the new system is being offered in other European countries
also with the e-Ticketing standards Calypso and VDV-KA.

On-board computers and validators use a scanning device to identify
both NFC credit cards with the functionalities MasterCard PayPassTM
and Visa payWaveTM as well as e-Tickets compliant with the British
ITSO standard. This makes it easier for passengers to use the system,
prevents errors in operation and takes up less space in the driver´s
working area. Offline operation ensures very fast transaction times
since no online queries are necessary via the background system. Each
terminal receives updated blocking lists in certain cycles at close
intervals to ensure a high level of security in spite of offline
operation. This solution facilitates a very simple and fast tap
on/tap off or check-in/check-out process.

In the past, contactless credit cards provided for payment of a
service at a predefined price. In contrast, as passengers´ boarding
and exiting statistics are recorded, this means that the total fare
is only determined when changing trains or buses or at the end of the
journey. Moreover, passengers used to be required to register with
the transport authorities and buy a special identification medium to
be able to use these processes. The innovation developed by Hoeft &
Wessel on the basis of credit card systems now ensures that all
passengers need to use the check-in/check-out system is their credit
cards.

Passengers also benefit from the new ticketing system when paying for
tickets and finding the correct fares: it automatically selects the
suitable ticket and the best fare. The background system enables
individual transactions to be consolidated across a period of time
capable of being selected by the operator; only once this has been
done is the transaction submitted to the payment service provider.
This helps to save transaction fees. If a best-price strategy is
applied, in return the passenger can be billed with the most
favourable ticket for his usage behaviour, for instance in the form
of a day ticket rather than several single tickets.

Contactless payments by credit card ensure that the transport
authorities themselves benefit from lean, streamlined settlement
processes and full service from credit card providers: neither do
they need to deal with the production, distribution or management of
cards nor with the task of receivables management.

A special feature of the new on-board computers with ticket printers
of the type almex.optima bl, in addition to a reader for NFC credit
cards and E- Tickets, is a slightly inclined display for card
information. It is positioned at the same level as the reader at the
side of the device, making it convenient to use and readily visible
to the passenger. Moreover, persons with mobility restrictions can
reach and recognise this consolidated operating area particularly
well. Other product advantages are the system´s small footprint and
large paper supply. In developing the NFC functionalities for the
kernel of the operating system, Hoeft & Wessel was assisted by the
company CreditCall Ltd. in Bristol.

The first practical test is now on the cards: Hoeft & Wessel will be
equipping FirstGroup, the largest private bus operator in the United
Kingdom, with 4,000 systems. They will be integrated into the
corporate IT system, and a further 1,500 are at the planning stage.

Hoeft & Wessel still has great plans in the home market of its Almex
brand: "Now that we have reached a leading position in the bus
market, we plan to intensify our efforts in the field of stationary
ticketing terminals. In the process, in future we will also be
targeting the railway market in the United Kingdom," says Peter
Aylward, General Manager of Almex UK in Swindon.

Contact
Hoeft & Wessel AG / Almex UK
Peter Aylward, General Manager
Westmead Industrial Estate
Westlea, Swindon, SN5 7AD
T +44 1793 647-931
info@almex.co.uk

Media section with photos:
http://www.presseportal.de/pm/12945/hoeft_wessel_ag/

The Company Hoeft & Wessel is the technology leader and IT hardware &
software specialist for ticketing, parking and mobile solutions in
the United Kingdom and Germany. Established in 1978 by the two
entrepreneurs who gave the company its name and listed on the stock
market since 1998, the enterprise has grown into a group of companies
generating sales of just under EUR 100 million and employing a
workforce of 500 employees. Its main locations are Hannover and
Swindon, west of London. With its Almex business division, Hoeft &
Wessel is amongst the leading providers of ticketing and telematics
systems for public passenger transportation and of check-in solutions
for aviation companies in Europe.

Pictures with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/rIOV5rqU

Further inquiry note:
Arnd Fritzemeier
Tel.: +49-511-6102-300
E-Mail: PR@hoeft-wessel.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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Pictures with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/rIOV5rqU

company: Höft & Wessel AG
Rotenburger Str. 20
D-30659 Hannover
phone: +49-511-6102-0
FAX: +49-511-6102-411
mail: ir@hoeft-wessel.com
WWW: http://www.hoeft-wessel.com
sector: Technology
ISIN: DE0006011000
indexes: Prime All Share, Technology All Share
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hannover, München
language: English