The world’s best-recognized public transport fair in London, Transport Ticketing Global, announced the Estonian company Ridango as the best developer of ticket and contactless payment systems.
Transport Ticketing Global is one of the most important events in the field of public transportation, as it brings together key players from around the world to discuss the latest solutions in ticketing, passenger information and payments. Every year, the best companies are recognized there. Ridango, founded in Estonia, won in the smart ticket sales category. This category recognizes a public transport operator or public transport authority and their technology partners that have launched a successful smart ticketing program serving at least 200,000 daily trips in the past two years.
Ridango won in a category where different solutions, for example, from Singapore, New York, Latin America and elsewhere were featured.
“Kyiv started with the contactless payment solution created by Ridango last year in the organization of ground public transport, and since then the solution has been used tens of millions of times,” said Ridango’s chairman of the board Erki Lipre. “With this, we have enabled the Ukrainian people’s movement to function in very difficult circumstances. It is very important for the people of Kyiv that they can continue their daily activities even in war conditions, and the comfortable functioning of public transport in the big city plays a significant role in this. For this purpose, we developed a solution where passengers can contactless validate their right to ride by simply waving a bank card, a phone, or a smartwatch. The solution works in buses, trams, and trolleybuses, also helping Ukraine towards a better future.”
Public transportation in Kyiv stopped on the first day of the war, and it was decided to start it again on the 9th of May last year. At the moment, street transport continues to operate in a slightly reduced volume compared to pre-war times. Yet millions of rides are validated every month. This is up to twice less than before the war, but it helps to ensure the functioning of convenient public transport for the people of Kyiv.
Lipre added that Kyiv city leaders and the local partner Amrita along with financial services provider Visa have been courageous, innovative and have kept a true vision in their cooperation despite extremely difficult times in Ukraine.
Ridango also won the Digital Champion title, which recognizes projects that have significantly contributed to updating the digital journey of passengers and thus made access to public transport and ticket information more accessible to everyone. Ridango earned this award for the development of a joint ticket for Tallinn, Tartu, and Helsinki.
Ridango is a fast-growing Estonian technology company. “The ambitious goal by 2026 is to become the world’s leading provider of smart transportation systems and a group of tech companies related to the public transportation sector,” Lipre confirmed.
Estonian public transport technology company AS Ridango was founded in 2009 and specializes in the development of public transport ticket systems, real-time systems, and payment systems. In addition to Estonia, Ridango provides services in about 30 other countries around the world. The company’s main clients are local governments, their subdivisions, and private public transport operators. Ridango is committed to improving the ease of use of public transport in many major cities around the world. In Estonia, the company’s customers include Elron, the Tallinn Transport Department, the City of Tartu, Pärnu Public Transport Centre, and others.
