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Citymapper app users can now plan trips and purchase bus tickets for National Express West Midlands buses, powered by Masabi

Partnership marks Citymapper's first-ever mobile ticketing integration

11 June 2024 (LONDON) — Citymapper today announced the launch of its first-ever mobile ticketing integration, making National Express West Midlands (NXWM) bus ticket purchases available within the Citymapper app, through an integration with Masabi.

This first-of-its-kind integration gives passengers an all-in-one plan, pay and ride experience, allowing NXWM passengers to use the Citymapper app to plan their trips and purchase tickets for travel on NXWM buses throughout the West Midlands.

As the leader in the largest UK urban bus market outside of London, NXWM provides on average 210 million bus passenger journeys per year across the West Midlands. The bus operator has partnered with Citymapper and its established user base of over 50M global users to meaningfully improve public transport access for users travelling throughout the region.

This collaboration is a key component of NXWM’s plan to provide more integrated and environmentally friendly mobility options to riders. By giving instant mobile ticket access to passengers who have the Citymapper app on their phones, choosing to travel by bus is even easier and more convenient.

The mobile ticketing functionality within the Citymapper app has been made possible using Masabi’s Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK creates a seamless and secure mobile ticketing purchase and payment experience. Ticket types available via the Citymapper app include single, day, and weekly bus tickets, which customers then validate as they board the bus and scan their ticket using NXWM’s onboard validators.

Citymapper (which was acquired in 2023 by Via, the global leader in TransitTech), provides travellers with easy, personalised, and fun journey-planning across all transport modes available in their cities. This latest integration is unique due to how deeply embedded the ticket-purchasing is within the journey-planning experience. Passengers are prompted to purchase tickets at intuitive moments during the planning process, making it easier than ever to travel on public transport.

Antony Goozee, Bus Strategy & Commercial Director for National Express, said:

"As the landscape of public transport continues to evolve, it’s important that we provide customers with a convenient bus journey planning and ticketing experience.

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Citymapper, and by integrating our bus services and tickets with their user-friendly app we are providing new and existing passengers with seamless access to greener, easier transport options.

“This first-of-its-kind collaboration represents a significant milestone in our mission to make it more convenient to move around the West Midlands by bus."

Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi, said:

“As we have seen in cities around the world where a range of leading MaaS apps have used Masabi’s SDK to empower greater choice to public transport users, ticketing options being made available through the Citymapper app allows authorities, operators and passengers increased accessibility to services and greater flexibility by providing a seamless ticketing experience.

“We are excited to further develop our partnerships with National Express West Midlands and Citymapper to help deliver a better passenger experience for travellers across the West Midlands and we expect other cities will look to offer their passengers this functionality.”

Nithya Sowrirajan, Chief Product Officer at Via, said:

“Via believes in a world where everyone has access to efficient, affordable mobility. This partnership between Citymapper, Masabi, and National Express West Midlands moves us all closer to that vision by making it easier for more riders to discover, plan and pay for public transport. This in turn will empower more riders to use public transport more often.

“We’re thrilled to debut this offering in the West Midlands and look forward to working with other leading agencies and authorities to offer this seamless experience in their own communities.”

Today’s announcement marks another milestone in the long-standing partnership between NXWM and Masabi. In 2016, Masabi and NXWM forged a successful partnership, introducing the highly acclaimed mTicket app. Building on this success, in 2018, Masabi and NXWM unveiled a smart ticketing scheme tailored specifically for students, followed in 2021 by a successful cash digitisation program for ticket purchases at retail locations. In 2023 alone, over 43 million bus trips were made easier and more efficient thanks to mTickets and this next innovation will help more people use their phones to travel across the West Midlands.

For more information about the Citymapper app, visit www.citymapper.com.

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Notes to Editors:

About Citymapper

Citymapper is Via's MaaS+ solution for transportation authorities, agencies and cities. It helps transit thrive not only by making journey planning easy, personal and fun for riders, but also by providing agencies with valuable tools and ridership insights to optimise their networks. Citymapper gives agencies access to a co-branded MaaS app, unprecedented ridership insights, and integrated disruption management tools. Lauded as an “App of the Year” by Apple and “Editor’s Choice” by Google, Citymapper has provided MaaS in 400+ countries and is beloved by 50m+ users worldwide.

For more information about Citymapper visit www.ridewithvia.com/solutions/citymapper.

About Masabi

Masabi is bringing Fare Payments-as-a-Service to public transit agencies and authorities of all sizes around the globe. This enables the delivery of the latest fare payment innovations quickly, using a platform that is constantly updating and adding new features. Not only does this improve the journey experience for passengers, but it helps agencies keep up with the pace of technology change while reducing the total cost of fare collection. Justride, named Ticketing Technology of the Year 2019 and 2020, is used by more than 200 authorities and operators of all sizes across 4 continents.

For more information about Masabi visit www.masabi.com.

About National Express West Midlands

National Express West Midlands is the major operator of local bus services in the region with the largest fleet of buses in the UK (over 1,400) - including a significant fleet of zero emission vehicles.

It is part of Mobico Group, a leading international shared mobility provider of bus, coach and rail services, employing 46,000 people in 11 countries across the UK, North America, continental Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Mobico Group is shaping the future of multi-modal transport, working with clients and partners across the world to make cities function better and to address environmental challenges by driving modal shift.

For more information about National Express West Midlands visit www.nxbus.co.uk.