Deutsche Bahn and NXP Semiconductors
today announced they are continuing
their cooperation on Touch&Travel in
Germany. Touch&Travel is a mobile
ticketing scheme that has been running
in a pilot phase in Germany since
2008.

Using NFC, the ticketing system enables e-ticketing based on NFC-enabled mobile phones.

Deutsche Bahn and NXP together with other project partners co-operated in the pilot phase and are now joining forces to successfully bring Touch&Travel into the market.

Touch&Travel is an innovative mobile
ticketing scheme with low
infrastructure costs, which enables
customers to use NFC-based mobile
phones for fast and easy e-ticketing.
The contactless technology of NFC
allows passengers to conveniently
purchase tickets by bringing the
mobile phone close to Touch&Travel
Touchpoints.

Data is transmitted through an existing infrastructure – the mobile phone network – and payment for travel is securely made. The fare is calculated automatically and the billing is done on regular basis.

This system provides a simple and flexible access to public transport in Germany. Customers benefit by the unlimited access to travel across different means of transport by just using the NFC-enabled mobile phone for check-in and check-out.

As the Touchpoint and the mobile phone are equipped with latest secure elements, the system combines high security demands and compliance to the German e-ticketing standard VDV-KA, with ease of use.

“By driving the NFC technology and its leadership in secure contactless technologies in transportation, NXP is a competent partner for Deutsche Bahn in the project,” said Birgit Wirth, head of project mobility at Deutsche Bahn.

Ruediger Stroh, executive vice president and general manager, identification business, at NXP Semiconductors, added: “The Touch&Travel project as a nationwide German use case for mobile ticketing will be a catalyst for the deployment of NFC phones in Germany. By its early involvement in NFC, Deutsche Bahn has shown that the company is at the forefront of innovation and values innovative contactless technology as opportunity to provide high customer comfort and security standards by using mobile ticketing schemes.”

NFC is a market proven technology co-invented by NXP in 2002. In 2004 NXP co-founded theNFC Forum to lead the collaboration with all industry stakeholders and help standardise the technology. NFC technology evolved from a combination of contactless identification (RFID) and interconnection technologies.