German Railway Operator Ditches Mobile Ticketing

Deutsche Bahn, a German railway company, announced plans to abandon its mobile ticketing payment scheme, known as Touch&Travel, due to low adoption and the continuing use of paper tickets.

The company introduced mobile ticketing back in 2006 and introduced NFC technology into the system in 2007, but the offering has failed to win over a significant number of consumers.

According to Telecompaper, many Deutsche Bahn patrons still buy paper tickets at the station, print their online tickets at home or use a paper-based subscription for their train fare.

Despite the fact that every Deutsche Bahn station and platform is equipped with contactless Touchpoints, wall badges with a QR code and an NFC tag, the adoption of contactless technology has remained slow.

Telecompaper explained that many people in Germany still favor paper tickets, as opposed to using NFC technology, due to concerns about privacy and data sharing.

The company’s DB Navigator app reportedly has less than 100,000 registered users, and the service is expected to be shut down by the end of the year.

There are also plans for the role of ticker inspectors on Deutsche Bahn trains to be eliminated in the coming years, requiring customers to check in electronically. The company plans to work towards implementing location-based tickets instead to calculate fares.