Thales e-Transactions CGA S.A. has been appointed by AS Oslo Sporveier, the public transport operator for the city of Oslo, to supply the secure and multimodal contactless smartcard fare collection system for its urban transport network. This contract is for a complete project to upgrade the fare collection system for all modes of public transportation in the Norwegian capital.

When implemented, the project will provide a fully integrated fare collection system for 260 buses, 72 trams, 7 boats, 103 metro stations, 10 point-of-sale (POS) terminals and 150 comission agents. The present range of paper tickets will be replaced by a combination of contactless smart cards and contactless disposable tickets.

The new system includes a new generation equipment from Thales that gives the end user the possibility to buy tickets, either onsite from a ticket vending machine, or over the Internet, to add value to the card, retrieve the tickets from the point-of-sale terminals, and validate them. Thales will supply Ticket Vending Machines (TVM), contactless validators, on-board driver consoles, point-of-sale terminals (POST and LPOS), Portable Verifying Units, depot systems for buses, tramways and boats, central stations system. Thales will also supply a new generation of gates for several metro stations of the city centre.

This contract for Oslo follows Thales recent success in The Netherlands, where a fully integrated fare system will be implemented on a national scale for all means of public transport of the country. The project offers considerable advantages because it enables travel over the entire country by trains, buses, trams, metros, with one single ticket. The advantages are immediate for the users as they do no longer have to queue at the sales counter or at the gates. With contactless technology, there is no longer any need to take a card out of a bag or wallet. It also offers numerous benefits to the operators as the system enables to personalise the cards and to get visibility of each journey. The information gathered enables transport companies to optimise their facilities.

As in Nanjing, Taiwan, Bangkok, New Delhi and Ile-de-France (Paris region) for the RATP, the transport operator for Paris and its region. Oslo confirms Thales’ capacity for innovation and commitment to the deployment of contactless technology.

Jean-Louis Olié, Chairman and Managing Director for Thales e-Transactions CGA S.A., states: “This new success confirms our position in Northern Europe, an expanding market for multimodal systems using contactless smartcard technology as a unique mode of payment.”

About Thales and Thales e-Transactions CGA S.A.

Thales is a world leader in professional electronics in three key markets: Aerospace, Defence and Information Technology & Services (IT&S). The Group employs 65,000 people in nearly 50 countries worldwide, and generated revenues of over €11 billion in 2002.

Within the IT&S business area, Thales e-Transactions CGA S.A. is a world leader in integrated fare systems for transport. It offers innovative systems, products and services in the field of secure contactless technology.

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Anne-Lydie Bladier
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