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Transport for London buys Oyster brand name, plans extra services and move to mobile ticketing

Sarah Clark — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:31:09 +0000

OWN BRAND: Transport for London is now free to take Oyster in new directions

Transport for London (TfL) has paid £1m to secure ownership and control of the Oyster brand and of London's transport ticketing system.

"Oyster is the world's most successful transport smartcard," says Shashi Verma, TfL's director of fares and ticketing. "Now that the Oyster brand and ticketing equipment is under TfL's ownership we can further investigate the potential for Oyster to be extended to new and existing technologies and the commercial opportunities that provides."

"Oyster has the potential to be used for so much more than simply getting around the capital, and the technology is there to make it even more convenient for Londoners to use by integrating it into mobile phones or bank cards," explains Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor of London's transport advisor. "Buying full rights to the Oyster brand means TfL now has total control over the future of Oyster."

TfL has also announced that it has made an early repayment of its debt to the TranSys Consortium which built the Oyster system, meaning that "all ticketing system assets such as Oyster readers and validators, ticket gatelines, all London Underground retailing devices including ticket office and passenger operated machines, London Buses ticketing equipment and back office systems have now transferred to public control and the ownership of Transport for London."

There are currently more than seven million Oyster cards in regular use and around 80% of all journeys made each day on the bus, Tube, DLR and London Overground services are paid for via Oyster. In January this year, Oyster was expanded to include all 350 National Rail stations in London and the first of a new generation of ticketing barriers able to accept payments via contactless cards and NFC phones are due to be installed in 2011.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Over-C announces comprehensive NFC-based solution for managing remote workers

Sarah Clark — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:48:15 +0000

"By 2012, 80% of security guards in private security will be NFC-equipped," says Michael Elliott of NFC-based remote worker management specialists Over-C, whose technology is already used by security staff at Marks & Spencer and at all London Overground stations.

V3: NFC-based remote worker management starts at free with Over-C's latest offering

Over-C has announced details of version 3 of its NFC-based remote worker management system, due for commercial launch in October. Designed to support a wide range of business sectors wherever staff work remotely — such as security staff, home healthcare visitors, cleaners, maintenance staff and others — Over-C works in a market where the use of NFC delivers several clear advantages over existing solutions.

In the security sector, for instance, the most widespread current solutions combine tags embedded at key locations with a dedicated tag reader used by security staff to log the fact that they have visited the location. While this records the fact that the worker has done his job, the information is only downloaded from the device at the end of a shift.

Using an NFC solution, on the other hand, real-time feedback becomes possible. This has two key advantages:

For the employer, an alert can be created if a worker fails to log in to a touch point at the appointed time, enabling possible problems — such as a possible security breach or a missed visit to a recuperating patient — to be flagged up and investigated without delay.
For the remote worker, it gives an improvement in their safety since the instant alert capability also flags up the fact that they may be in trouble. A diabetic who ran into difficulties whilst working at one very large Over-C equipped facility, for example, was able to be found in just ten minutes rather than the hours it could otherwise have taken. Colleagues were able to see where he had last logged in and use that information to narrow down the search.

The current version of the solution has had some early successes with customers in the security, healthcare and construction industries and there are already over one million tag reads taking place every month. Customers include Securitas, which has delivered a solution to Marks & Spencer that sees store security staff using Over-C to record thefts. STM Security Group, meanwhile, is using Over-C in every London Overground station and for monitoring staff safety on trains, and several security companies are also using Over-C at locations such as shopping centres and construction sites.

The new version of Over-C's Mobile NFC Framework, called V3, is device independent, giving customers the option to choose their preferred NFC handset, and includes a series of new features that use the real-time nature of the technology to deliver additional benefits, such as lone worker monitoring, API integration with leading staff rostering and scheduling systems and exception reporting — allowing missed checks such as 'the fire hydrant on level five has not been tested' to be flagged up.

"Knowing what didn't happen can often have more value than knowing what did," explains Michael Elliott, the managing director of Over-C, who has been working on the development of NFC-based remote worker management solutions since 2000. Elliott filed his first NFC-related patent in 2002 and launched the first version of Over-C's technology in 2006.

V3 also includes a dynamic messaging option that enables field workers to be sent instructions on what action to take, dependent on the information they report back when they touch a tag.

For instance, this aspect of the Over-C system could be used by workers checking the points (also known as switches or turnouts) on a railway line. Here, each time they check a set of points, a series of options for describing the status of the set is provided on the screen of their NFC phone. If they choose 'points failed test', for example, they are then sent back a pre-set instruction to 'Take a photo. Contact engineering for further instructions'. Different messages, meanwhile, could also be automatically sent to management to record the fact that the points failed the inspection and ensure that the necessary repair work has been carried out.

The new version offers a free entry-level hosted solution for low volume users as well as tiered subscription packages for volume users.

"We're offering the entry level edition free of charge because we're committed to making a positive contribution to organisations that rely on remote workers, whether they're domiciliary carers, cleaners or security guards. We can help them to work smarter and safer, and we want Over-C to be the natural choice for this kind of technology," says Elliott. "By 2012, 80% of security guards in private security will be NFC-equipped."

V3 launches in the UK on 26 October. The entry-level offering is due to go live in the first quarter of 2010 and launches in a number of territories, including all English-speaking nations, will take place during 2010.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Orange and Barclaycard partner to launch NFC in the UK

Sarah Clark — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:44:14 +0000

All customers are expected to be able to use their phones to pay for everyday items within three years in "the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards were introduced over 40 years ago."

REVOLUTION: Orange and Barclaycard's partnership will bring mobile payments to a customer base of 28m people — around half the UK's population

Orange and Barclaycard have formed a long-term strategic partnership to bring mobile payments to British consumers. The communication and banking giants, who have a combined UK customer base of 28 million people, will jointly develop solutions that "let customers use their mobile to both make payments and stay in better control of their finances".

Under the agreement, Orange and Barclaycard will launch co-branded Orange/Barclaycard products and services in a range of markets:

Customers will be able to use their mobiles to pay for goods and services at retailers using contactless technology, by simply waving their handset against a reader. Both companies will be looking to expand the partnership to include other contactless services within ticketing, transport and rewards. MasterCard will provide the payment capabilities for the transactions.
The partnership between Barclaycard and Orange will also enable market-leading mobile alerts, servicing capabilities and new banking applications, all of which will help customers keep in control of their finances while on the move.
Over the next few months customers will start to see the benefits of the partnership with a host of marketing opportunities currently being finalised by Orange and Barclaycard.

"Today you pay for things by cash or on your credit card," says Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK. "Tomorrow, you'll use your mobile to buy the things you want, whether that's on the high street or the internet."

"These are the services that will change the way we live and work for the better, and are evolving the way we interact with each other and the way that companies serve us," he added. "This new partnership with Barclaycard is at the forefront of that kind of thinking, and our customers will benefit from the leading-edge technology that both Orange and Barclaycard can provide."

Antony Jenkins, CEO of Barclaycard, said: "This partnership brings together a leader in communications and the UK's leading payments brand with the aim of revolutionising the way people pay. There has been a lot of talk about mobile payments and now it's going to become a reality for our customers because of Barclaycard's commitment to contactless technology and the coming together of two dynamic and imaginative organisations."

"Both Barclaycard and Orange have a heritage of innovation and can see how mobile communications and payments can come together for the benefit of our customers," he added. "I believe that all our UK customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday items within three years."

Orange, Barclaycard and MasterCard all have a long history of involvement in testing mobile payments:

Barclaycard introduced contactless technology on credit cards in September 2007 with the launch of Barclaycard OnePulse, a three-in-one Oyster, credit and contactless card. All Barclaycard Platinum cards now include contactless technology and over 1.5 million contactless Barclaycards are now in issue.
Barclays Bank began rolling out contactless Visa debit cards across the UK at the beginning of March. Up to three million customers are expected to have been issued with contactless debit cards by the end of the year and the majority of Barclays debit card customers will have contactless cards by 2011.
Barclaycard took part in a six month trial of the O2 Wallet in London from November 2007 to May 2008 with Transport for London, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia and AEG.
Around 8,000 retailers already accept contactless payments including many outlets of Pret A Manger, Coffee Republic, EAT, Books etc, Krispy Kreme, Threshers and thousands of independent retailers, with more installing the technology every week.
Under the UK's contactless card system, consumers can use their cards to make transactions of £10 or less without entering a PIN.
In January, Orange revealed it had been working with smart card and SIM specialist Sagem Orga for more than a year to develop a custom SWP-enabled NFC SIM that is tailored to the mobile operator's specific requirements.
In November 2008, MasterCard launched Mobile MasterCard PayPass, a solution designed to make it easy for member banks to offer NFC services to their cardholders.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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London Underground signals move to NFC

Sarah Clark — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:34:13 +0000

Transport for London's new ticketing contract will drive the switch to next generation ticketing, London Underground's managing director has confirmed.

The ability to switch to NFC and other next generation transaction technologies was a key factor in the renegotiation of Transport for London's Oyster ticketing contract, it has become clear this week.

O'TOOLE: 'As the market evolves we want to make sure we are part of that'

"The MD of London Underground Tim O'Toole said the ability to use near field communication-enabled phones and other next-gen ticketing tech on London's public transport will be enabled by the new deal," says technology news service Silicon.com.

In August 2008 TfL announced it was terminating early its existing contract with TranSys for the delivery of the Oyster ticketing system. In October, TfL reported to the London Assembly on its future ticketing plans and, in November, it signed a new ticketing deal with EDS and Cubic (two of the four members of the TranSys consortium) that, this time, gives TfL full control of the Oyster brand.

Now fuller details are beginning to emerge of what that new deal might mean. Tim O'Toole, London Underground's managing director, told Silicon.com this week:

The problem with the prior contractual arrangement was that once we had made the jump to Oyster and it was up and running there was little incentive to jump to next-generation electronic ticketing like near field communications.
The new contractual structure will allow for great flexibility and more changes.
As the market evolves we want to make sure that we are part of that and it is about putting a system in place that allows for that to happen.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Mobile technology to drive consumer interaction at London Olympics

Sarah Clark — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:45:08 +0000

The BT team responsible for the communications infrastructure at the London 2012 Olympic Games is exploring ways to use mobile services to enhance the consumer experience. Under discussion are phone voting and the use of NFC for small payments and for event staff management.

MOBILE GAMES: NFC is set to play a part in the London 2012 Olympics

The Olympic Games has a history of showcasing leading edge technology and it looks as though London 2012 will be no exception. The BT London 2012 team, charged with building the communications infrastructure for the games, is putting in place a mobile strategy designed to improve the overall experience of attending the games.

"There are plans to give an emphasis to mobile technology to enhance consumer interaction at the games," Stuart Hill, vice president of BT's London 2012 delivery programme, told Computing. Also on the cards for 2012 are:

The roll-out of NFC-enabled payment terminals for items costing under £10 (likely to leverage Barclaycard's existing plans to convert its merchants to contactless technology and Barclaycard's work with Transport for London, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia, AEG and O2 on the O2 wallet trial earlier this year.)
A new handset that could be jointly developed by BT with Samsung and LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) which would be used by staff working at event sites.
Mobile TV services allowing live updates on sporting events.
Reality TV-style voting for the public's favourite athletes.

In total, the project to provide London 2012's communications infrastructure involves 80,000 connections over 94 sites with 16,500 fixed telephone lines, 2,796 miles of fibre and a network of 14,000 mobile phones.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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O2 Academy music venues to provide test beds for NFC

Sarah Clark — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:15:51 +0000

Mobile operator O2 has signed a deal which will see eleven major music venues across the UK rebranded as an 'O2 Academy'. O2 will offer customers a series of benefits such as priority access to tickets and will use the venues to test a range of NFC-based services.

British mobile operator O2, which is quickly building a reputation as an NFC innovator, has signed a deal which will see eleven major 'Academy' music venues across the UK rebranded with the O2 name under a strategic alliance between the venue owners and the mobile operator.

LONDON CALLING: O2 will showcase NFC at 11 more music venues, including the world famous Brixton Academy

"The alliance will boost support for future music talent and enhance the music experience for fans visiting the venues as well as allow O2 to offer a number of benefits for its customers," says O2.

Customers will gain priority access to tickets to all gigs at the venues, as well as other events organised by Live Nation which, with Metropolis Music and SJM Concerts, is a major shareholder in Academy Music Group, the venues' owner and operator. A series of innovative, additional services are also being hinted at.

"Through this partnership we are not only looking to benefit O2 customers, but to also enhance the live experience for all artists and music fans," explained Ronan Dunne, Telefonica O2 UK's chief executive.

"We intend this partnership to take O2's position in live music to new heights and allow us to market our concerts and artist-related products to millions of O2 customers and drive incremental ticket sales," added Simon Lewis, international president of music marketing partnerships at Live Nation.

And John Northcote, CEO at Academy Music Group, said "O2 has a dedicated programme and track record of rewarding their customers and embracing new methods of communication, as well as supporting new and emerging artists."

Here's what O2 has so far revealed about its plans:

O2 will work closely with Live Nation/AMG to enhance the concert-going experience, developing technologies like mobile ticketing which is both convenient and environmentally friendly, and utilize the venues to assess the benefits of contactless NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in the music industry.
O2 customers may also be able to enjoy other unique benefits that will significantly enhance their experience, including fast track entry, creating areas for O2 customers and their guests where they can relax before and after events, and opportunities to text ahead for special benefits.
O2 will also have first option to exclusive live content from O2 Academy gigs and will work closely with the artists to make this content available for download to mobile handsets. Through its Napster and MyPlay music services, O2 has a variety of platforms available for artists to distribute their music directly to fans.

O2 has already run a number of NFC trials in the UK:

A highly successful six month 'O2 Wallet' trial took place in London between November 2007 and May 2008. Five hundred people took part in the test, designed to discover consumer demand for having payment and travel cards available on an NFC mobile phone, and was conducted jointly with Transport for London, Barclaycard, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia and AEG.
At London Fashion Week in February 2008, an O2 NFC system was used to allow fashion buyers to give instant feedback on the latest Emilio de la Morena collection. Installed for the designer's catwalk show at the Science Museum, the system enabled buyers to touch an NFC phone to smart posters featuring the different designs on offer in order to register their interest in a particular design. This instant feedback allowed the label to find out which designs were most popular and to make any necessary changes to the collection before its Paris fashion show only two weeks later.
In June 2008, O2 began a trial designed to protect care workers in the field while they are visiting patients. 120 healthcare workers were issued with NFC handsets for remote community care access and NFC tags are used to enable workers to access patient records on their handsets and log their whereabouts when they are visiting patients to enhance safety measures when workers are making house calls.
In July 2008, VIPs at the O2 Wireless Festival were able to access 'VIPee' NFC-secured toilets. Selected guests could access luxury cubicles on site simply by tapping an NFC wristband to a special reader.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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TfL reports to London Assembly on future of Oyster

Sarah Clark — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:48:40 +0000

Transport for London now looks pretty set on its plan to replace its prepaid Oyster contactless card system with a bank-card compatible solution. Both contactless bank cards and NFC are options being considered and TfL will definitely outsource delivery of the new system to the private sector

At a meeting of the London Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee on October 21st, Transport for London representatives confirmed they are looking at various technologies and providers to take over from its existing Oyster prepaid contactless card system in 2010.

Will Judge, head of future ticketing at TfL, said they wanted the new ticketing system to be contactless, fast and convenient and explained that new advances in technology meant the system could be delivered on a smart card – like the Oyster card – or on a phone or bank card.

When TfL considers the new technology, Judge added, they would not try to do it in-house, but would take advantage of good practice elsewhere. TfL also told the Committee they are investigating whether Oyster – and its successor – could be integrated with other parts of London transport. It is hoped that Oyster will be available on the capital’s riverboat services next year.

Commenting on the decision to terminate the contract with TranSys, Judge said that TfL believed it would save millions of pounds by moving to a more conventional contract than the one agreed for Oyster. He said TfL intended to break the new contract up into modules and let each bit individually.

Assembly Members also heard that the new ticketing system could have a different name and that the Oyster brand could be lost forever.

“This Committee is interested to hear about the new technologies that TfL is exploring for the delivery of their new ticketing system," concluded John Biggs AM, Chair of the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee. "We will look with interest during our examination of TfL’s business plan to see what level of savings is achieved.”

Full video coverage of the meeting can be viewed on the London Assembly website, by clicking through to a webcast of the Budget and Performance Committee — 21 October.

A little background on the current status of Oyster:

In August, TfL announced it was terminating early its existing contract with TranSys for delivering Oyster, after the system suffered a serious breakdown on more than one occasion.
TfL executives have suggested at various industry meetings this year that they would like to move away from a proprietary system where they act as card issuer and towards an open system built around contactless card standards where travellers could use their contactless bank card or NFC phone on London's public transport system.
TfL ran the UK's first large-scale NFC pilot over six months from November 2007 in partnership with O2, Barclaycard, Nokia, Transys, Visa and AEG using 500 mobile phones with built-in Oyster card technology.
In September, Barclaycard announced a plan to expand its OnePulse product, a three-in-one Oyster, credit card and prepaid card. "In time you won't have to carry a plastic credit card around with you if you don't want to, although some people will choose to for nostalgic reasons," said Barclaycard chief executive Antony Jenkins as he explained plans to move towards the introduction of mobile phone-based services.
TfL also ran an NFC-based smart poster trial in 2007 at Blackfriars station where travellers could get maps, directions and real-time travel advice transmitted to their mobile phones.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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