Évora offers contactless payments on public transit network

Trevo users can now make contactless payments on board buses with contactless cards, smartphones or smartwatches, quickly and without the need for a physical ticket. This system, called Contactless EMV, is used in many cities worldwide, but Évora is the first city in Portugal to implement the contactless payment system.

Ubirider's Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform, Pick, allows Trevo to integrate and combine means of transport and mobility: buses, trains, rideshare, scooters, parking, etc. Users have access to the Pick Hub app, which allows them to plan their trips with more options, pay and use their digital tickets with simplicity.

Pick also includes powerful features and tools for transport service providers that guarantee more seamless operations, access to information and payments. Through the use of Pick, public transport operators and cities can make a rapid migration to a state-of-the-art management and ticketing system that encourages a greater use of public transport using digital and contactless means, fundamental in this post-pandemic period.

Trevo - Making Évora the city with the most modern transport system in Portugal

In order to satisfy the demand for more and better public transport options, Trevo set out to achieve three main objectives for the public transport in the city of Évora: 1) attract and retain more passengers, 2) reduce the use of cars in the city to free up space for pedestrians, commerce and restaurants, and 3) reduce the city's carbon footprint. Trevo saw the Pick Platform as the key to achieving these goals.

Through the Pick Hub app, both citizens and tourists now have access to real-time information to plan journeys and make easier use of Évora's public transport services, as they can use digital ticketing to avoid waiting in lines to buy tickets or passes.

Users can now travel with their own digital means: smartphones, smartwatches or contactless cards. During their journeys, users also receive real-time information about transport timetables, bus locations, estimated times of arrival, and more, making the public transport service more predictable and reliable. The elimination of cash payments streamlines the boarding and deboarding process and allows the drivers to focus on passenger safety and staying on schedule, not spending time collecting payment.

The expected reduction in the issuing of physical passes or tickets, usually in plastic, will also contribute to the environmental sustainability of Trevo's transport service, making it one of the most environmentally friendly systems in the country. Through the Pick Platform, Trevo will gain powerful knowledge about its operations and transport network usage in real time to facilitate strategic decision making and improve urban mobility.

"It is incredibly satisfying to see the realisation of our goal – making Trevo the most modern digital platform for public transport management in Évora, as well as offering our users a simple and convenient process to purchase transport tickets and pay by digital or contactless means." said Pedro Deus, CEO of Trevo. "Improving mobility is essential for cities in the interior of the country, such as Évora, to retain and attract residents and tourists.

"The Ubirider platform represents the disruption of the old way of dealing with processes that we were used to. However, today I can say that the transition was smooth, safe and rewarding, also because Trevo is the first case of the Pick platform installation in a public transport operation. The result is quite good and so I envision an excellent future for Ubirider, even internationally."

Mastercard leads the way

A pioneer in driving the digital transformation of multiple industries, including transportation and mobility, Mastercard supported Trevo and Ubirider from the beginning of the project to create the first all-digital public transportation network in Portugal. To celebrate this historic movement, Mastercard is launching a campaign that offers a cash-back reimbursement of tickets to those who pay their Trevo bus fare with contactless Mastercard cards on Mondays (with contactless bank cards, smartphones or smart watches).

"Mastercard is accelerating the digital transition in the public transport sector in Portugal by providing access to innovative solutions that result from partnerships, just as we have done before in many cities around the world," said Maria Antónia Saldanha, Country Manager of Mastercard.

"These new solutions offer integrated urban services and create value for local communities, from mobility to data access, that result in decisions that make cities smarter, more efficient and sustainable – in tourism, in boosting local business or even in financial inclusion – key aspects for the future of smart cities. Residents and visitors to Évora can now make contactless payments in public transport, with simplicity and convenience. Operators reduce transaction costs by up to 80% when compared to classic travel cards."

Ubirider: revolutionising mobility with Pick Platform and Pick Hub app

Ubirider has built the Pick Platform as an independent system to connect and help both travellers and transport operators provide more seamless travel experiences. The mobile app Pick Hub, available through the Apple App Store, Google Play and App Gallery, allows users to plan door-to-door travel, pay and ride to all destinations, everywhere, using the best transport combination. This makes Pick Hub the only mobile app in the region which enables users to buy and recharge physical passes directly through the app using their smartphones NFC (Apple or Android).

The Pick Insight 'back-office' collects real-time information, stored in the cloud, of vehicle and traveller’s flow, enabling any public transport operator to efficiently and digitally manage operation, ticketing, sales and payments, supported by a simple but modern, cost-effective and powerful infrastructure: smartphones and cloud technology.

"Our focus is improving transportation – not only to make the experience of using it significantly better, more integrated and simpler for individuals, but also to empower cities and transport operators to gain valuable insights about how their transport networks are being used, so that, with agility, they can make adjustments to better meet the needs of citizens, businesses and environmental sustainability," said Paulo dos Santos, founder and CEO of Ubirider. "It was a privilege for us to have worked with a team like Trevo, who are so committed to managing and serving their passengers and their city well.

This deployment demonstrates that you don't need a large investment or have a large transport network to have access to the best technology or the most modern solutions. It also demonstrates that it is possible for public transport to be managed with high performance, quality of service and safety without the need for complex, expensive and fallible physical systems. I hope that the case we have built with Trevo will serve as an example of success so that other Portuguese operators and cities, of any size, will see our platform as a concrete and robust solution to the many problems that exist in transport in Portugal, particularly to improve its efficiency and interaction with users. They have enormous power to improve people's lives: social inclusion, quality of life, environment, economy, and distribution of wealth."

Évora is a strong example to show how good innovation and well-structured digital technologies can have a great overall impact on the efficiency of systems as complex as public transport, even more vital in an interior city like Évora, with a strong connection to the rural environment that surrounds it. Trevo and Ubirider invite you to experience the mobility of the present in Évora.