Flowbird-Logo-Blue

City of Angers, FRANCE

SHORT LEADTIME DELIVERY OF A COMPLETE INTERMODAL TICKETING PROJECT

180 buses and 30 million

journeys per year

Over 2 million

validations per mounth

80,000 sales transactions

every mounth

45,000 fare inspections

per month

A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT

A full system intermodal ticketing solution deployed in a very short leadtime (15 months from the signing of the contract to commissioning).

Buses, tramways, park and ride car and bicycle parks connected to each other by a single ticketing medium.

An ecosystem that is open to third-party solutions  (DAC, Internet sales portal, secure collective bicycle enclosure).

“As a strategic tool for making urban spaces more dynamic, an intermodal transport system around the tramway can contribute to the city. Spaces are redesigned, local development is boosted and mobility becomes easier”

Short leadtime delivery of

a complete intermodal ticketing system

 

Reducing pollutant emissions, improving cohesion across communities and areas and boosting the local economy were the main challenges facing the city of Angers Loire Métropole (ALM) when they initiated their tramway project in 2011.

The new tramway was eagerly awaited by the population and has created a new dynamic that makes people mobile in other ways. As the transport organising authority, ALM was looking to strike the right balance between the use of cars and alternative means of transport.

Thus, more than just a ticketing project to stimulate a new mode of transport, the contract awarded to Flowbird is a major contributor to the development of the area. The aim is to bring the 33 towns into the modern age by allowing the intermodal use of bicycles, cars, buses and trams in a fully contactless integrated solution in a little over a year.

Keolis-Angers was appointed for the management, operating and development of the public service offered by the system, known as Irigo.

THE SOLUTION

Project priorities: innovating to serve travellers and simplify their movements, by making the intermodal transport system visible and intuitive.

Innovation: passes and single tickets have given way to contactless media, successfully used since the early 2000s by Flowbird, which has been a direct participant in their development and the emergence of interoperability standards.

The A’tout card is offered to all regular users of the Irigo system, while occasional travellers can use single or reloadable contactless tickets.

Tickets and passes are reloaded using contactless technology on some hundred Vending Machines supplied by Flowbird, in a portable version for drivers and inspectors, or a fixed version for the points of sale scattered across the network.

 

Visibility: 24/7 access is provided by over 50 Ticket Vending Machines Astreo machines that offer the same sale and reloading features in stations. Travellers who prefer counters and personalised services can go to agents, who have been given a total of 85 light terminals.

Against the backdrop of sweeping changes in consumer behaviour and the exponential growth of e-commerce, the ticketing software core developed by Flowbird was integrated into the online sale application, as part of a multi-channel strategy to serve successful marketing.

 

Simplicity: Flowbird has installed 660 Axio contactless multipurpose validators. Axio machines support mobility by speeding up boarding on the 180 buses and 17 trams that serve the conurbation, controlling the opening of entry and exit barriers of the park and ride car parks that can be found along the lines and offering secure access to enclosures for collective bicycles

In order to give drivers an incentive to modify their individual behaviour, parking is free of charge for holders of Irigo tickets, which are to be held up to the Axio platform validators to open the entry barrier. Others are issued a blank ticketing medium using a terminal that is also supplied by Flowbird; then they only need to load it on the machines vending the required ticket. A validated ticket is required to lift the barrier for final exit.

The Transfolio and ArchiPEL platforms installed on the site in server bays process and centralise all payment, vending and validation transactions in real time. The collected data form a body of knowledge used by Keolis-Angers to continually improve the quality of the offer and services to travellers

BENEFITS

The smooth sequencing of the stages in the deployment of the complete integrated ticketing solution from Flowbird played a major part in helping users get over the inconvenience of the construction work that is always necessary for such projects.

The proper articulation of systems and the centralised management of equipment are managed by the Flowbird ecosystem, which is flexible and open enough to easily integrate the third-party ticket booklet vending machines that are used by drivers

The satisfaction of our customer was high, particularly since the system was immensely successful from the start. The reliability of the infrastructure and contactless technology meets users’ expectations in terms of ease and convenience, and provides a convivial intermodal travel experience around the backbone formed by the “rainbow” trams, with the same ticketing medium. Based on that success, a project for a second tram route is under discussion. 

The overall solution for mobility management from Flowbird is being deployed successfully in towns and cities in France and elsewhere to simplify the life of an ever-increasing number of inhabitants and take up the challenges of the future.