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The new innovation from Chiltern Railways is a mobile ticketing app that allows passengers the ability to purchase, receive, and authenticate tickets using the latest scanners that have been installed at the gates of Cubic’s stations along the Chiltern networks. The leading provider of automated systems for fare collections and public transport solutions, Cubic Transportation Systems has announced full support to the new app, which is the first time that the UK has had such abilities for railway passengers. Commuters will now be able to use regular handsets as well as Smartphones to purchase or receive tickets in just a single transaction.

The new mobile gate from Cubic and Chiltern allows ticket inspectors to read mTickets using an on-board equipment system, and also gives passengers the convenience of using the app just as they would use a traditional ticketing system, with similar entry and exit channels. Rail operators also have the ease of checking the tickets at any station on any train without the use of scanners, with the mTickets appearing as a visual representation on the mobile phone itself.

An Android (News - Alert) supported version of the app is already in production, to add to the current range of usability in Blackberry handsets, Samsung Java-based handsets, Nokia, iOS devices and Sony Ericsson (News - Alert). The app has been developed by Masabi, a software producer specializing in mobile ticketing.

In a release, the Managing Director of Cubic Transportation Systems, UK, Roger Crow said that “Cubic is involved in a range of exciting ticketing innovations worldwide and is proud to be providing support to Chiltern Railways in this project. We have successfully integrated bar code capability on our gates and into a new hand held 'mobile gate' device enabling the use of Chiltern's web and mobile ticketing applications. This will deliver benefits to Chiltern's customers in how they purchase tickets, thus simplifying and improving their travel experience."