Dec. 12, 2017
A transit ticket that won't "scan" at the ticket validator: a major source of frustration that can quickly undermine customer satisfaction.
When the rail company responsible for commuter trains in the Orlando area noticed that a large number of ticket validations were problematic, it sought out a new supplier to design more reliable contactless RFID tickets. It was therefore only natural thatAXEM Technology, an expert in RFID products, was consulted.
The reason the French company was able to successfully rise to the challenge is that its team analyzed everything in detail…
Passenger satisfaction: a key issue!
Launched in 2014, the first Sunrail lines have yet to prove themselves in meeting passengers’ needs for their daily commutes. However, in just a few months, the rail company has earned a disastrous reputation when it comes to single-use tickets. The reason? A problem with ticket reading at the automatic ticket machines—so much so that passengers were afraid to use them.
In fact, many of the chips weren’t being read, and the paper was fragile, which resulted in a high rate of waste. And even though the trains are comfortable and the staff is friendly, the user experience was ruined by those minutes of profound loneliness spent in front of an uncooperative machine. Inevitably, disappointed passengers preferred to turn to other modes of transportation.
This was a real problem for Sunrail, especially since this malfunction was a major financial drain, resulting in very high compensation costs. Action had to be taken.
Replace the machines? Too expensive. Instead, the focus should have been on consumables and finding a new, reliable, and competent supplier capable of providing dependable banknotes. User confidence depended on it.
Rethinking the RFID Tag to Ensure Performance
AXEM Technology ’s U.S. partner reached out to the company because the ticket design needed to be completely rethought, while ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure. While the importance of paper quality was clear, the company also needed to find a supplier capable of managing and optimizing RFID performance.
And to carry out their mission, the AXEM Technology teams began by literally dissecting the old ticket in order to analyze it point by point.
“We then realized that certain features could be optimized. In addition to the paper quality, the chip and the antenna also needed to be improved,” recalls Philippe MONDON, the company’s CEO. “Just a few months after our initial discussions, we sent samples to be tested on-site. Then, in April 2017, the first 450,000 tickets were rolled out at Sunrail stations.”
Since then, the French supplier AXEM Technology has been providing all commuter train tickets for the Orlando area. This contract, with a minimum term of 5 years, represents approximately 1.5 million tickets per year.
The French Company's Added Value
Detailed analysis of requirements and constraints: understanding the shortcomings of the previous solution, environmental constraints, and the requirements for reading and using the system, for both operators and users.
RFID Expertise: Choosing the right inlay with the right chip, antenna, and connectors to ensure optimal read performance and electrical durability.
Pre-encoding Management: Facilitates use and reading by ensuring data consistency between the chip and the ticket.
Selection of high-quality materials: to ensure minimal stress on the chip during data integration, a reliability rate of nearly 100%, and high-volume production quality identical to that of the samples.
Price competitiveness: optimizing and controlling production costs.