Indra will improve the experience of Amsterdam's public transportation users with its ticketing technology

GVB, the authority operating the municipal public transportation network in Amsterdam, awarded Indra a contract to install its ticketing technology for the underground, streetcar and bus network of the Dutch capital, with the purpose of improving user experience.

Indra's proposal has been selected in a public request for proposals in which another seven international companies participated, from countries such as Hungary, France, Germany, Sweden or Holland. One of the aspects that was viewed as essential during the tender process was the company's state-of-the-art proprietary technology, backed by many top companies around the world, which offers a flexibility that allows it to be fully adapted to the conceptual design proposed by the client, solely focusing on the user, as well as the company's capacity to develop and implement the solution in a record time of less than two years.

Specifically, Indra will install more than 130 automatic ticket vending machines, which include units that accept payment in cash and with a credit card at underground stations, as well as units that only accept credit cards in underground stations and at streetcar or bus stops. In accordance with the requirements set forth by GVB during the tender process, the new systems and equipment will make it easier for users to purchase their tickets, with a more comfortable and simpler ticket purchasing system, reducing the purchase transaction time to the bare minimum. The automatic ticket vending machines will have to meet the rules and guidelines set for the Dutch ticketing system based on the payment card OV-Chipkaart.

The contract includes training, support, monitoring and maintenance services over a seven-year period,. In addition, it leaves the door open to new orders that might be required to cater to the high demand for similar ticket vending machines, which will eventually replace the current system in which tickets can be paid with cash money on buses and streetcars. This is expected to happen during the contract. GVB wishes their travellers will buy tickets in advance of their journey and having automatic ticket vending macines on trams and bus stops will certainly help in that regard.

Therefore, future business opportunities are opened for Indra in Amsterdam and in the Netherlands, since its reference product is potentially valid for the entire Dutch transportation network.

Focus on the European transportation market

This transportation system improvement project in Amsterdam strengthens Indra's position in the European Transport market. To this end, the company is committed to showcasing its know-how in solutions and systems and innovating in the main R&D programs and projects of the EU.

Recently, Highways England, the authority responsible for the strategic road network of the United Kingdom, awarded a contract to the company for the implementation of its tunnel management technology, based on the proprietary solution of Indra Horus. The company has already implemented this technology to manage 12 road tunnels in London, and is also working on major transportation sector projects in Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, Bulgaria or Spain

In relation to innovation, Indra participates in different projects of the Shift2Rail framework, the main European R&D+i initiative of the railroad sector, and leads the Transforming Transport macro-project, among others, which uses Big Data to improve mobility in Europe, or the AUTICTS project, which will perform test runs with self-driving cars in Lisbon, Madrid and Paris.

Leadership in ticketing and urban mobility

Indra is one of the world leaders in ticketing. It offers its own solutions and has worked in projects for the underground in Madrid, Barcelona, Medellin, Santiago de Chile, Cairo, Calcutta and Mumbai, the light rail in St Louis, the railroad in Buenos Aires and the suburban railroad in Mexico City, among others.

The company is currently working on the world's largest ticketing contract to date and is implementing all of the ticketing and access control systems for the new public transportation system being developed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will also implement its ticketing technology in the Mecca-Medina High-speed railway, as the benchmark technology provider of the Spanish consortium.

With this new contract, Amsterdam joins a list of over 100 more cities worldwide that have chosen Indra's solutions to improve their urban mobility and transportation networks, which include cities like London, Madrid, Dublin, Medellin, Curitiba and Manila. When applied to traffic management and urban transportation, this technology enables safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility, contributing to the reduction of traffic jams and their corresponding costs, minimizing pollution, and promoting the use of (intermodal) integrated urban transportation services.

About Indra

Indra is one of the world's top consulting and technology companies and a technology partner for the key operations of its customers' businesses worldwide. It is a leading worldwide provider of proprietary solutions in niche areas in Transport and Defense Markets and the absolute leader in IT in Spain and Latin America. It offers a comprehensive range of proprietary solutions and cutting edge services with a high added value in technology based on a unique culture of reliability, flexibility and adaptability to the needs of its customers. Indra is a world leader in the development of end-to-end technology solutions in fields such as Defense and Security, Transport and Traffic, Energy and Industry, Telecommunications and Media, Financial Services, Electoral Processes, and Public Administrations and Healthcare. Through its Minsait unit, it addresses the challenges of digital transformation. In 2016 Indra posted a revenue of €2,709m, employed 34,000 professionals, and had a local presence in 46 countries plus sales operations in more than 140 countries. Following its acquisition of Tecnocom, Indra's combined revenue amounted to more than €3,200m in 2016 with a team of nearly 40,000 professionals.