BEST PRICE GUARANTEE: USING A NEW TICKETING SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMER AND OPERATOR SATISFACTION

A new ticketing system using reloadable contact-less cards started in two towns in Upper-Austria (Wels, Steyr). This new system is based on a marketing oriented view using Best Price Guarantee (BPG) to win additional passengers and provide an up-to-date image to public transport. The elements of the system are: (1) a contact-less smart card that is loaded by the driver; (2) check-in at every travel, the card is registered and the price for the trip is calculated and taken; and (3) the system never take more than a day- or season ticket would cost. The marketing strategy is that BPG guaranties the lowest possible price for using public transport without knowledge of the ticket prices. There is also no risk for the passengers to pay too much because of a wrong decision of what kind of ticket he/she should buy or loosing value due to holidays or illness when the traditional long-term ticket could not be used. The traveler can go as they please and always pay the lowest price without the necessity of knowing the ticketing scheme. The benefit for the bus-operators is that the travel time could be reduced because of faster ticket selling. The system seems to be a success as nearly every third inhabitant of Wels already has a best-price-ticket.