Scientific paper ID 786 : 2013/3

Interoperability is the ability of a system or a product to work with other systems or products without any extra effort d from the customer. From the e-ticketing point of view, interoperability means that the same contactless card could be used in different public transport networks through shared applications. That has become a major issue for ticketing systems since a growing number of passengers both inside and outside European borders. Passengers like to travel in comfort and appreciate coherent services, simplified fare management and seamless transport changes without involving any special effort. Therefore, transport authorities and operators willing to set up an interoperable transport area (city, region or on nation level) and need to agree on many rules and regulations of their systems. The Calypso technology is able to satisfy the demands of interoperability while offering freedom and independence to each operator. The development of different environments using Calypso smart ticketing systems let appear the necessity of defining possibilities of interoperability between them as they use different, and therefore incompatible, sets of security keys. The paper will present possibilities of public transport interoperability with calypso technology and Brussels’s MOBIB case study as a good example of the interoperable smart ticketing system commonly adopted for all the country.