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Blockchain could offer a solution to UK transport ticketing systems
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A new approach to transport ticketing represents a step towards an integrated and transparent system that works efficiently for both ticketing providers and passengers across all modes of transport.
Traditional ticketing systems are based on vulnerable solutions to problems, including the lack of transferability across multimodal transport networks and the inability to adapt to political changes and new technologies.
Experts at the University of Birmingham have outlined a system that offers a new basis for all ticket providers. In a new card Posted in IET BlockchainSTUB (System for Ticketing Ubiquity Within Blockchains) brings together the capabilities of two versatile technologies: blockchain and ontology.
A blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions in a way that ensures security, transparency and immutability. An ontology is a formal representation of the knowledge within a domain and the relationships between concepts used to model and manage complex information systems.
The researchers showed how both technologies could be combined to create a robust, transparent and interconnected data framework that ensures consistent and reliable shared knowledge.
Using these data structures, ticket providers can sell and validate tokenized tickets on blockchain, ensuring universal accessibility to all suppliers. Ontology integration allows vendors to capture and share contextual information about the file transport networkenabling suppliers to offer comprehensive data on routes, schedules and availability, thus simplifying the ticketing process.
Lead author Dr Joe Preece said: “Transportation systems around the world are becoming increasingly interconnected. Ticketing systems are key in this regard, and there is growing interest in using smarter transport ticketing that leverages emerging technologies to overcome the limitations of traditional systems. The system we have designed allows ticket providers to operate in a more transparent and flexible environment, which will ultimately offer passengers a more user-friendly experience.
“STUB’s approach is not to be a single central data platform with an integrated transport policy, but rather to be a policy-agnostic approach that allows ticket providers and existing technologies to share key transport data ticketing and build new solutions on top of them. In essence, this could provide a modernized approach to rail conciliation that enables multimodal ticketing, automated revenue and reimbursement allocation, and dynamic fare determination, while maintaining the sector’s technologies that already work well.”
The next step for the team will be to create a pilot project for the technology in a regional transport network to demonstrate its effectiveness and get feedback from ticket operators and passengers.
“A big implementation challenge will be integrating with existing ticketing infrastructure to work alongside current standardized approaches as we increase technology. Creating a successful pilot project will be key to breaking down these barriers,” added Dr Preece.
More information:
Joseph D. Preece et al, Leveraging Chains for Distributed Public Transportation Ticketing: An Investigation with the Blockchain Ticketing Ubiquity System, IET Blockchain (2024). DOI: 10.1049/blc2.12071