An eTicket is an electronic ticket for public transport. Incidentally, in technical jargon, it is referred to as a ‘travel authorisation’ rather than a ‘ticket’. 

An (((e-ticket is stored on a chip that can be written to and read via a standardised wireless protocol. This means that an (((e-ticket can be stored on a wide variety of user devices: a smartphone, a plastic card or even wearables such as smartwatches. The ticket is stored on the chip as an encrypted data record, ensuring it cannot be tampered with. To verify the authenticity of such an (((e-ticket, ticket inspectors on buses and trains use electronic readers which scan the (((e-ticket and immediately indicate whether the ticket is valid.

For mobile tickets purchased by passengers via their transport operator’s app, the (((e-ticket is displayed visually as a 2D barcode on the screen. With our Motics NFC upgrade, no barcode is required at all: The ticket validator recognises the ticket directly via Near Field Communication technology on the smartphone. No display or scanning is required at all. The wireless technology operates independently of the mobile network and is therefore also usable in regions with limited network coverage. The mobile ticket can thus be verified in the same way as a chip card.

Technical infrastructure for (((eTickets

The (((eTicket is generated in a back-end system, secured by an IT security infrastructure, issued via sales systems, stored on a user medium and validated by validation systems.
To ensure this system works throughout Germany, we have our standard for electronic fare management (EFM): the VDV Core Application or its successor, (((etiCORE.
The VDV-KA is a set of specifications for EFM systems. Because all transport operators, transport associations and, of course, manufacturers of ticketing components (must) adhere to these guidelines, all locally developed systems are able to communicate with one another and thus interconnect. This is known as interoperability. 

Although technically possible since the early 2000s, this interoperability has only really been put into practice since the introduction of the Deutschland-Ticket: a ticket purchased in Bremen is accepted in Passau just as it is in Frankfurt. This is the case regardless of whether it is stored on a chip card or in a smartphone, and irrespective of whether the passenger ordered the ticket from the Bremen Tram customer centre or purchased it via the DB Navigator.