Thales, ASK help tourists get around at Winter Olympics
14 February, 2006
category: Contactless, Financial, Transit
Those attending the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy are able to get around quicker, thanks to smart cards provided by ASK that can be used both for public transit and tolls. Another French company, systems integrator Thales, was involved with a 13 kilometer transit line in the heart of the city, an important requirement that helps the city cope with the influx of Olympics-bound visitors.
Thales secures Turin’s first metro line network for Olympics
The completion of the advanced access control and ticketing system for the new City of Turin metro in time for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games underlines Thales’s ability to deliver world-leading transport systems for major events.
The Turin metro consists of a 13 kilometer line linking the northwest commuter belt of Collegno, with Porta Nuova, a central station in the heart of the city. The addition of this new line was an important requirement for Turin being chosen to host the 2006 Winter Olympics so that the city could cope with the influx of visitors. In the long-term, it will also provide the residents of Turin with a viable public transport alternative to driving into the city. This system will also be the first in Europe in which public transport ticketing has been integrated with car park ticketing, allowing customers to use one ticket for both travelling and parking.
Thales had just one year to deliver the ticketing systems before the start of the Winter Olympics in February 2006. Thales has successfully achieved this, providing the automated ticketing equipment, which has been installed in 15 new unmanned stations built along Line 1. Thales won this contract in February 2005 based on its high score from the technical evaluation, as well as demonstrating successful delivery of similar projects in Naples, The Netherlands and Denmark.
The system Thales has implemented in Turin is comprised of access control equipment with tickets and card readers at all sites and intrusion detection systems. The system, operated by a central server based in Collegno, consists of 183 access control gates, 183 magnetic ticket handling units, 183 contactless card and ticket handling units and 36 automatic ticket vending machines.
As well as the technical considerations, Thales had to take into account specific requirements linked to the Paralympics, which are to take place after the Olympics. Having worked with the Italian association for disabled people to access the needs of this group when travelling by metro, Thales designed the first ever access gate to accommodate disabled people, especially those who are blind or partially sighted. This includes wider gates, a buzzer to warn the passenger and a monitoring device on the floor that reacts to the approaching person, essential in unmanned stations.
In December 2005, Thales received an additional order from the customer, Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (GTT) to equip one of the operator’s 20 car parks with a ticketing system that is fully integrated with the transport network. Passengers leaving their vehicles at this car park can now purchase a magnetic ticket at the car park that will cover both the parking and the use of the metro. After delivery of the first car park system in just one month, Thales will now work with GTT to implement the same system in the other car parks and expand it to include contactless tickets. This is the first time such a system has been installed in Europe. The approach has already proven very successful and popular in Hong Kong.
ASK cards drive transit and toll collections
ASK cards and tickets are being used by Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (GTT) and Societa Italiana Traforo Autostrade del Frejus (SITAF) to drive an innovative ticketing and fare collection system during the 20th Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
GTT led the project to provide a pioneering payment system in the Turin region using ASK’s TanGO-based CT4002 contactless smart cards and C.ticket contactless paper tickets. The unified ticketing system provides seamless mobility from SITAF highway toll to city car parks and public transport (Trenitalia and 27 private operators).
Take TanGo for multi-application mobility
SITAF’s new “SI.PASS” card, is a multi-application, multi-modal dual interface card that offers a cluster of services for greater mobility in and around town. SI.PASS is branded with 5 different logos and has already been sent to VIPs and the Olympic family. It will also be available from toll booths and railway stations. With a SI.PASS card, visitors can cruise through automatic tolls on the A32 highway or in the Frejus tunnel and make contactless payments in car parks before boarding on GTT public transport.
“We are one of the first companies in the world to offer contactless smart cards for both toll payment and public transport, says Ugo Jalasse, director, SITAF. “The versatility of ASK’s TanGO platform allows us to combine GTT transport services with our own, making public transport at this year’s Winter Olympic Games a smooth and uncomplicated experience.”
C.ticket buys both entertainment and travel
GTT manages the public transport networks in Torino and its suburbs. While season ticket-holders tend to use new GTT dual interface card, there are four different contactless paper tickets to meet the needs of other users: a pass for school children, a multimodal pass, a pass for tourists and tickets to museums and galleries.
