June 2007, Gothenburg - Mobile ticketing reaches the tourism industry
Gothenburg is the first city in the world to offer its city pass (Göteborgs Passet) as a mobile ticket. As a tourist in Gothenburg you can by the city pass on the Gothenburg tourism website and choose to receive the pass as a mobile ticket. The process of obtaining the pass is relatively easy and user-friendly. You need access to the internet, a credit card and a mobile phone that supports barcode SMS (most phones do now days). The order process works as follows:
- Visit www.goteborg.com where you can choose to download the pass as a mobile ticket. If you have children that do not have their own mobile phones you can download more than one ticket to your number. You pay by credit card.
- A confirmation will be sent to your phone per SMS.
- When it’s time to use the pass, you send an activation SMS.
- In return you receive an SMS containing the barcode that gives you access to public transport, museums and other tourist attractions. The code is scanned at each venue with a hand scanner. The pass is valid for 24 or 48 hours depending on which version you buy.
By offering this service Göteborg & Co (Gothenburg’s tourism agency) will positively benefit from the following points:
- Reduced costs in producing, handling and distributing the pass
- Eliminates the need to collect the paper pass
- Reduces the risk of loosing or leaving the pass behind
As always with new technology there are some drawbacks. You need a relatively new mobile phone that can handle barcode SMS. There is also the risk that the user’s phone breaks down, or he accidentally deletes the SMS. We have no information on if the system saves the customer data so that if the SMS is lost, a new one can be sent to the phone.
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