E-payment

Open architecture

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Trans Link Systems can ensure that your public transport company is also ready for the OV-chipkaart system. The OV-chipkaart system will ensure that all transactions generated by the use of the public transport smart card are processed.

 

Electronic payment in practice: The passenger has an OV-chipkaart. The passenger holds the OV-chipkaart near the card reader when entering and leaving the public transport vehicle. The fare to be paid will be deducted when leaving the vehicle.

 

Passenger
The convenience for the passenger is the most important aspect. Trans Link Systems has researched the existing systems and has selected an "off-the-shelf" system and not a system that has to be built from the bottom up. This system has, naturally, been adjusted to the situation in the Netherlands. The implementation of an existing system ensures that the passenger can use the system easily and without problems. Whether you travel every day, now and then, take a bicycle along, have a reduced rate card (such as a monthly season ticket) or call just to pick up your partner – we should all be able to use it. Foreign business travellers and tourists can also use the new form of payment immediately without knowledge of our rate system or our timetable. The system is intended for every passenger.

 

The OV-chipkaart system (Dutch public transport smart card system)
TLS, in partnership with the Dutch public transport companies, ensures that a nationally operating OV-chipkaart system is in place. This system consists of various system elements and public transport smart cards which interact in specific ways. Thus ensuring that the passenger can travel without problems using the services of multiple public transport companies. A central processing system that can process thousands of millions of transactions correctly and reliably is required. 

 

The national payment system in the Netherlands consists of the following levels which are visible or invisible to passengers:

 

0 The OV-chipkaart (Dutch public transport smart card).
1 Passenger level equipment.
2 Local systems.
3 Public transport company central system.
4 Central processing system.

 

Level 0: The OV-chipkaart (Dutch public transport smart card).
The following types of smart cards are available:

 

Chargeable public transport smart card:

  • Personal public transport smart card:
    A smart card for registered customers with options such as automatic recharging, loss and theft insurance and season tickets.
    Automatic recharge: Card holders provide a standing order to automatically recharge a fixed amount which is deducted from their bank or Giro bank account and added to the balance of the OV-chipkaart when the balance reaches a predetermined minimum amount.
  • Anonymous public transport smart card:
    A rechargeable public transport smart card without customer data registration. This OV-chipkaart can be value charged at a (value charge) machine or service desk.

Non-rechargeable public transport smart card (a disposable card):

  • A smart card with limited validity, for example, a 3-day smart card or a 10-trip smart card.
  • A smart card that replaces the current paper tickets that are sold on board trams and busses (such as the current 2-zone and 3-zone segment cards (“strippenkaarten”).

Level 1: Passenger level equipment
The passenger will encounter a variety of equipment when using the OV-chipkaart:

 

Vending equipment:

  • Mobile ticket printers: To be used by (bus) drivers to sell paper tickets.
  • Portable ticket printers: To be used by, for example, guards to sell paper tickets.
  • OV-chipkaart vending machines.
  • Vending machines for service desks at stations.

Card readers:

  • Card-reading equipment mounted within the vehicle (bus and tram).
  • Gates with integrated card readers for the metro and train stations.
  • Freestanding validators with integrated card readers for open train and metro stations.
  • Upgrade validators for first class passengers.

Recharging machines.
To recharge the OV-chipkaart and, thus, add to the balance on the card.


Balance readers.
The balance readers can be used by passengers to read information on their OV-chipkaart such as the remaining balance, the last ten payment and transport transactions and season ticket information. Balance readers are usually integrated in the vending machines.


Mobile control equipment for the guards.

 

Level 2: Local systems
The data that is received by the equipment in level 1 (passenger level) is stored by local systems at stations, garages and depots before it is forwarded to level 3.

 

Level 3: Public transport company central system.
Every public transport company will have a single central system that transfers the transaction data to the central processing system (level 4) and that receives the processed data from the central processing system. The public transport company central system can also be linked to other systems within the company such as the financial, (rolling) stock planning and relation management systems.

 

Level 4: Central processing system
The central processing system will be linked to the carrier central system and to the systems of the relevant financial organisations. The system receives all data generated in the systems of the various carriers. The central processing system will use the data to, for example, arrange payments between the various public transport companies, manage the automatic recharging of the OV-chipkaart and arrange the registration communication regarding expired or invalid smart cards. Every OV-chipkaart will have a unique code in order to be able to provide this registration. The central processing system provides the required means to personalise the OV-chipkaart without including an individual-oriented analysis.