Payments heavyweight Mastercard has partnered with Portugese mobility platform, Ubirider to simplify access and payments for mobility services.
Ubirider, who introduced the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform Pick, and Mastercard will focus on offeringimproved digital transport solutions that combine data with operational, payment and ticketing resources, the companies said in a statement. These will be provided for both public transport agencies and operators.
“We partnered with Ubirider both because their digital and multi-modal solutions align closely with our vision, and because the Ubirider platform directly addresses rapidly evolving user and transit operator needs,” said Chapin Flynn, Senior Vice President, Transit and Mobility of Mastercard.”
The MaaS platform Pick, which comprises mobile applications, cloud software and web portals, is popular for its convenience, and increased efficiency for operators.
Although the management of public transport systems varies from country to country, and city to city a common thread between almost all public transport operators, and something which Pick by Ubirider has been tackling, is the struggle to manage and integrate several technological platforms into their operation.
Key challenges faced by such systems often include the management of schedules and drivers, services offered, and communicating information to the public.
Issuing tickets through different channels such as ticket offices, vending machines, apps, and websites can also be problematic, as can the way in which payments are accepted, by card or digital wallet, and how invoices and receipts are issued.
The platform Pick by Ubirider combines all these functions and includes a payment management system, which allows passengers to buy trips involving different mobility services.
In July 2022, in partnership with Mastercard, Ubirider implemented in the city of Évora, Pick Driver, the first Tap-on-Phone traffic application incorporated into its app for bus drivers. This allowed the acceptance of contactless payments on-board buses operated by Trevo, the city’s main transport operator.
Another offset of Mastercard’s partnership with Ubirider was when Fertagus, operator of suburban trains in the Lisbon metropolitan area, adopted the Pick platform, through which more than 30% of ticket sales were transacted in the first 10 months.
“We have been working with Mastercard for some time in Portugal and this agreement is the result of successful cases that we have achieved together, but also of the conviction that our digital mobility-as-a-service platform, Pick, is ready to compete successfully around the world,” Paulo Ferreira dos Santos, CEO and Founder of Ubirider added.
