An NFC mobile ticketing service for public transportation is now live in the Caen la Mer region of France, allowing passengers to validate their tickets with a tap of their mobile phone.

To use the service, passengers need to download the Twisto mobile ticketing app to their Cityzi NFC phone, link a payment card to it and purchase single or multiple tickets before travelling. When on board, they tap their phone against a contactless reader to use a ticket stored on the app, and the reader displays the number of unused tickets left in the handset.

The app can also display the number of tickets remaining, purchase history and timetable information.

Caen public transport authority Viacites is offering the service to bus and tram passengers using the Twisto network operated by private sector transport group Keolis. Gemalto has provided and operates the Allynis Trusted Service Management platform used by the service.

"This offers Caen public transport users an innovative way to travel with greater speed and convenience by using secure mobile NFC solutions," says Gabrielle Bugat, senior vice president of secure transactions at Gemalto. "With this project, Keolis and Viacites are positioning themselves as leaders in public transport technology."

A video demonstrates the system in action: