In order to improve the quality of service for public transport users, the city of Lisbon decided to centralise the management of its network at regional scale, including 17 nearby towns for a total of 2.8 million people, plus 33 million tourists every year.  

This new integrated transport policy, unified under the Carris Metropolitana brand, requires centralised planning and interoperability throughout the entire system to meet this huge region’s current and future mobility needs. In total, the new network will handle more than six million journeys a year and incorporate 820 bus routes, 12,000 stops, over 90 night-time routes, and 1,600 buses (1,400 of which will be new or less than a year old) with free Wi-Fi for passengers. 

Axians Portugal was selected to supply the intelligent ticketing systems to be used in three of the project’s four concessions. These include a novel ticket validation system designed to significantly improve the user experience, and a software platform that incorporates a cloud-based central ticketing system. This system will enable operators to track daily transactions via cutting-edge IoT architecture that controls all remote equipment. This wide variety of equipment and systems will be deployed with partners such as the Portuguese telecoms firm NOS and startup Stratio, Wavecom from France and Datik from Spain. 

These solutions aim to provide all the information needed on board and to offer the best possible comfort, with excellent Wi-Fi services and a flexible range of payment methods. As well as optimising the safe movement of passengers, teams from Axians are providing additional safety measures, such as onboard video surveillance and driver behaviour monitoring, to ensure passenger safety during their journeys and driving that is more economical and respects traffic limits in the metropolitan area. 

“We are particularly delighted to have secured this contract thanks to our innovative dynamic, which combines technological excellence and sustainable development,” says Miguel Leocádio, Government and Transports Executive Director at Axians Portugal.