Good Practices - Slovenia
Integrated ticketing system – Integrated public passenger transportation system (IJPP)



Unified ticketing & fare collection system in Slovenia, also known as integrated public passenger transportation system (IJPP), simplifies the use of a public transport for passengers traveling under different public transportation entities. Before introduction of IJPP, public transportation operators and providers used incompatible ticketing and fare collection systems, where passengers had to purchase different tickets with multiple providers for a single travel. IJPP established unified ticketing and fare collection system for different public transportation operators and providers. This simplified ticket purchasing and switching different modes of public transport for passengers. IJPP unified fare ticketing platform consists of three basic functionalities, which are presented below. The first is unified product and service definition for describing different fare ticket types. The second is common IJPP ticket data structure containing location dependent fare price tables, used to define unified fare pricing. The third is common product and service distribution system, which enables ticket distribution, validation and control with different public transportation operators and providers. These functionalities are included in common platform for IJPP transaction processing.

The purpose of IJPP is to enable passengers to purchase unified tickets for public bus and railroad fares and convenient switch between different means of public transport.

IJPP fare ticketing platform is based on contactless smartcard technology and mobile transaction system, where passengers could conveniently purchase and validate electronic fare tickets with different transportation operators and providers.

Common ticket operation is based on ticket properties, as follows:

  1. Ticket identifier – each ticket is identified with unique ID;
  2. Ticket name – human readable name for ticket identification;
  3. Ticket type – identification of ticket type such as regular ticket, luggage ticket, penalty ticket;
  4. Conditional ticket – defines the ticket purchasing conditions;
  5. Inactive ticket time - a ticket traveling time;
  6. Active ticket time – a ticket traveling time;
  7. Coupon usage rules – define requirements for multiple ticket use;
  8. Ticket purchase rules – define ticket purchasing requirements such as allowed purchasing time and terminal type;
  9. Ticket validation rules – define ticket validation requirements, such as allowed validation time and ticket validation priority.

IJPP tickets are available for passengers to purchase and use in different geographical locations covered by IJPP system, such as IJPP city zones of Ljubljana, Maribor, and Murska Sobota. City zones are connected with intercity lines.


Example of interconnections for PT with the IJPP system

Each city location has its own fare price table. All intercity lines have one common price table. Every price table is defined with fare price table structure. Fare price table structure is a three-dimensional data structure, where dimensions represents price value dependent parameters. Prices are parameterized to three parameters, which form three-dimensional data structure:

  1. Ticket type (single fate, monthly fare, coupon fares and weekly fares);
  2. Passenger status (adult, student, senior etc.);
  3. Tariff class (travel distance, zones).

IJPP ticket data structure is sent remotely from the central IJPP transaction system to IJPP terminals, where are IJPP compatible and registered in IJPP system.


Ticket distribution chain in integrated ticketing system

Transportation operators and providers are owners of IJPP compatible terminals. Available distribution contract between transportation provider and IJPP service provider allows the transportation provider terminals to obtain complete IJPP ticket data structure, which is basis for processing ticket purchases, validations and controls. Defined tickets in the ticket data structure can be purchased on IJPP terminals regardless of the ticket usage location. Purchased tickets are electronically stored on the FC compatible smartcards owned by passengers. Ticket purchases/validation/controls are executed with IJPP transactions on mobile terminals and processed in the IJPP central system. Unfortunately, since the project has finished, lack of activities in IJPP is noticed. Continuation of the project is foreseen in the year 2019, in which all the groups of passengers would be able to use the integrated system.

2. Challenges and barriers in implementing /introducing selected good practice and respective ways used in order to overcome or limit risks

The IJPP project was designed to integrate all public transportation providers in Slovenia, including the national railways under a unified ticketing & fare collection system. With 37 transport providers and more than 1500 deployed terminals, this project represents the greatest feat of complexity in the segment of AFC. Hard work is needed to bring together large number of transport providers and also to provide the technology and integrate very complex system for ticket transaction processing. Trial period is necessary to collect the data and to monitor the system efficiency along with proper working. In the “trial” period in Slovenia, which has been going on since 2016, the system is used by secondary school and university students.

4. Factors of success

Working and user-friendly system is a key factor of success. Also, the possibility to integrate the IJPP card/app with the Urbana card is significant for greater success. The Urbana card (Urbana card was introduced at the level of Ljubljana city, for services provided by the Ljubljana city) with the IJPP application allows passengers to travel with any carrier on the line they are traveling and for which they purchased the ticket. This card offers several additional benefits if the credit is on the card, such as Bicycle service (LJ), membership in the Ljubljana City Library, trips to Ljubljana Castle, guided tours on the Ljubljana Castle, parking at P + R parking lots, parking in the white zones in the city or in the parking lots operated by LPT and travel with electric vehicles, EURBANI, on certain LPP lines. At the International contest - Ticketing Global Awards 2017 in London, the Slovenian Railways, as the lead partner of the consortium's contractor, won the award and first prize with the IJPP project in the category Most Innovative Customer Serving Operator.

5. Recommendations, transferability

The working system would enable passengers to switch between means of transportation as easily as possible, using just a single contactless card, regardless of the transportation provider, and it is expected that it would encourage more people to use public transportation.



Intermodality Promotion and Rail Renaissance in Adriatic - Ionian Region

This project is supported by the Interreg ADRION Programme funded under the European Regional Development Fund and IPA II fund.

Inter-Connect aims at promoting intermodal passengers transportation and revitalising rail …

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Contact

Technical Coordinator - Toolkit

Hellenic Institute of Transport
Dr. Maria Morfoulaki
marmor@certh.gr
Glykeria Myrovali
myrovali@certh.gr