“GoKyma” by Kyma Mobilità presented

“BE, let’s go!” is the very simple claim designed for the new Kyma Mobilità project (BE stands for Electronic Ticketing, ed.). In fact, last June 27th it was launched GoKyma, the new electronic ticketing system of Kyma Mobilità created by PluService for the company owned by the Municipality of Taranto.

Based on the most advanced technologies in the sector, “GoKyma” will certainly revolutionise the current organisation of Public Transport in Taranto, simplifying and standardising travel tickets, validation systems and control tools, as well as further expanding current sales channels.

All new Kyma Mobility travel tickets are electronic, equipped with a QR Code or an internal chip, and are recorded on a central server which stores, in an absolutely anonymous form, all travel information (day, time, line, means of transport). , etc.), data that will allow Kyma Mobilità to increasingly calibrate the service, making it more responsive to the real needs of customers.

With “GoKyma” new validators have been installed on all buses, equipped with a QR Code reader and chip, which allow the validation of travel tickets and the reading of season ticket cards; thanks to the EMV system (“Europay, Visa and Mastercard”), the validator also acts as a POS for the possible payment on board of electronic tickets with a credit or debit card, simply by placing the card next to it using “tap” technology.

All travel tickets must be validated for each single use, by simply reading the QR-Code or by holding season ticket cards and tickets equipped with an internal microchip near the validator.

The sale of new travel tickets began on June 27. The old tickets and season tickets will continue to be valid – until October 31 – a period in which customers will also find the old mechanical ticket validators on board the buses, in addition to the new electronic ones.

In fact, to reduce customer inconvenience, especially for citizens with a lower level of digitalization, as in all cities, also in Taranto the transition to electronic ticketing will be gradual and will see the two systems coexist.

Furthermore, during this period, the turnstiles installed on board the new buses will not be active and in the future they will be opened automatically by the “GoKyma” system only in the presence of regular validation of a ticket or season ticket.

From November 1st only the new electronic ticketing system “GoKyma” will be active. Starting from that date, all those who may be in possession of old travel tickets will still be able to go to the sales office in Via D’Aquino to “exchange” the old tickets for new ones or to obtain a refund.

The “GoKyma” electronic ticketing also affects season ticket holders: for this reason, the new cards have been sent to the homes of over 10,000 season ticket holders. They are NFC smart cards with an internal microchip, which can be activated online on the website. “kymattiva.it” or by going to the Sales Office in Via D’Aquino, a procedure that must be carried out by 31 October 2024 when the old cards will no longer be valid. To encourage customers to activate and use the new card, a welcome “discount” of € 2 is provided on the first subscription that will be taken out or renewed with the new card!

An important innovation: while in the past season ticket holders were required to show their season ticket card only in the event of on-board verification by controllers, with the “Go Kyma” electronic ticketing system they will instead have to have it read by the validator every time they they get on a bus. This will encourage the so-called “social control” by other passengers who will be able to immediately identify a tax evader who does not pay the ticket when he gets on board!

The modern technology of “GoKyma” will also greatly facilitate the work of the verifiers, better known as “controllers”, who will have a handheld device equipped with a QR-Code reader and a microchip which, thanks to the “MyCheck” application, will be able to interrogate the central server in real time, verifying the validity of the travel ticket or season ticket. In the event of a missing or unsuitable travel document, the terminal will directly issue the dispute report. In this case, the verifiers’ PDA will also be able to perform the POS function, thus allowing the evader to pay the debt in reduced form on the spot, using the credit card or debit card.

The new pricing and travel tickets: over the last ten years, Kyma Mobilità bus ticket prices have remained unchanged. The price list in force until June 26, 2024, in fact, dates back to October 2013.

The Puglia Region has recently provided (resolution of the Puglia Regional Council n. 767 of 11/06/2024) that the minimum fare of the single ticket in the provincial capital municipalities is not less than €1.20.

On 27 June 2024, in conjunction with electronic ticketing, the new Kyma Mobility tariff structure also came into force which in fact does not provide for significant increases.

The main objective of the investee company, in fact, was to simplify the travel tickets – which went from 7 to 4 – thus adapting to all the main Italian cities.

The new fare system is mainly aimed at rewarding and retaining regular bus users, further incentivizing citizens to use public transport, without neglecting occasional customers who will still be able to count on discounts.

All new tickets and season tickets have been completely redesigned in terms of graphics and technology, equipped with QR Codes or internal chips, to prevent them from being counterfeited through illegal reproduction. The €1 single-journey BIO ticket disappears from the new price list, which could only be used for one journey on the vehicle on which it was validated, without the possibility of reusing it on another bus. This ticket, if it had remained in force, would now have had to cost €1.20 according to the aforementioned regional resolution.

The new “basic ticket” of Kyma Mobilità is the “Ordinary Time Ticket” for €1.30, which can be used for 90 minutes starting from its validation, even changing multiple buses, ideal for moving around a particularly large city and in its hamlets, as well as in the territories of Statte and Leporano, which was not possible with the old BIO ticket. The new blue “Ordinary Time Ticket” is equipped with a QR-Code to be used with the new electronic validation machine installed on board all buses.

It effectively replaces the old BIT ticket with the same fare of €1.30 and the same features, i.e. the possibility of travelling without limits for 90 minutes throughout the country by changing buses: in practice, Kyma Mobilità has not increased the cost for this travel solution, maintaining the one in force for ten years!

The innovative €11 “Red Carnet Ticket” has been introduced, which entitles you to 10 timed journeys of 90 minutes: each journey will thus be paid only €1.10, less than the minimum fare of €1.20 required by the Region Puglia. Equipped with a microchip, this new ticket can also be recharged.

In line with all the main Italian and European cities, the strategic choice to eliminate the single ticket in favor of the 90-minute ticket, with the possibility of using more buses in this time frame, goes in the direction of the use of the main lines and the exchange with the various supply lines, which in Taranto will become increasingly frequent with the introduction of the BRT.

In the new pricing it is confirmed, with the price unchanged of € 2,60the green ticket that allows the use of all buses for an entire day.

With the same rate of €2.60, you can purchase, through parking meters or the “Kyma Mobilità” or “MooneyGo” smartphone apps, the Park&Ride ticket which also includes parking for a day in the areas of Piazzale Democrate and Terminal Cimino!

Furthermore, by purchasing the Park&Ride ticket starting from 6.00 pm, the rate will be even more advantageous: €1.30 to park the car and travel for the rest of the day on all Kyma Mobilità buses!

In the new pricing, the BUS3 ticket for three days disappears, while the weekly yellow “7Days” ticket which allows the use of all buses for seven days is confirmed: the price goes from €15.50 to €16.00, with a minimum increase of 50 cents!

As mentioned, electronic ticketing also allows “distracted” customers who forget the ticket at home or don’t have time to purchase it to save money: thanks to the EMV system (“Europay, Visa and Mastercard”), in fact, once they get on on board, for them it is sufficient to hold the credit card or debit card to the validator to purchase, in digital and dematerialized form, the €1.30 electronic ticket without any surcharge. Previously, these “distracted” customers were offered the only possibility of purchasing the ticket sold on board by the driver, at the increased rate of €1.50, a rate which went to €2.00 with the new system but which, thanks to the possibility of purchasing the ticket on board with a bank card, becomes completely marginal, allowing for greater speed of the journeys and freeing the driver from this task at the stops, discouraging, at the same time, the use of cash on board.

The new tariff came into force on June 27 and also affects all season tickets, which have not undergone any increase, a measure in line with the Melucci Administration’s policy to encourage the use of public transport in order to help decongest traffic and reduce pollution levels.

The reduction of €4.00 applied to monthly passes for workers goes in this direction, reduced from €34.00 to €30.00, a further incentive to prefer the bus to reach the workplace.

With the purchase of any monthly pass for public transport you are entitled to obtain, free of charge, the monthly pass for parking in one of the two Park&Ride macro exchange areas, Democrate and Cimino, which must be chosen at the time of purchase .

In this way, the advantageous rate of the monthly Park&Ride pass, associated with the reduction in the rate of the bus pass for employees, will allow the latter, particularly if residing outside the city limits, to choose the daily use of the interchange car parks, significantly containing the costs incurred for daily mobility.