Technically, a chip card can generally be used for five years. After that, it must be replaced. Normally, the issuing transport company sends the new chip card to the passenger in good time. Thanks to an innovation in our security management, chip cards can also be used for longer in future.

More than 470 transport companies and transport associations currently offer (((eTickets. Wherever you see the blue e with the brackets, (((eTickets are valid.

Passengers can obtain their eTickets directly from their transport company or transport association or via their employer (job ticket). Subscribers who have a monthly, annual or job ticket will either receive their chip card by post or can collect it from the customer centre. In the case of transport companies that offer single tickets as (((eTickets, passengers can obtain the user media from the customer centre or, as in Münster for example, from ticket machines.

It doesn't really matter on which user medium the eTicket is displayed. Accordingly, watches, key fobs and, above all, NFC-enabled smartphones can also be used.

However, the chip card is by far the most widespread user medium, at least in Germany: more than 15 million chip cards are currently in circulation, meaning that around 80% of public transport passengers use an (((eTicket on a chip card.

As long as it is not an anonymous (((eTicket, the name, gender, date of birth and the ticket itself are stored on the chip card. In other words, the chip stores whether it is a monthly ticket, a trainee or semester ticket, an annual season ticket, the region in which it is valid and who it belongs to.

In accordance with Section 6(1)(b) GDPR, the data required for invoicing (distance travelled or tickets purchased), the passenger's personal data (name, date of birth, gender) and the data otherwise collected about the journey are processed separately. The master data (address, account details) and the invoice data are only brought together for the purpose of invoicing or complaints processing.

Personal data of the passenger
During a ticket inspection, a reader can only access the passenger's personal data (name, gender, date of birth, customer type, etc.) after the passenger has entered a PIN or asymmetric authentication. If a passenger uses a (((eTicket on vehicles operated by two different transport companies, only so-called pseudonymous (authorisation-related) data is exchanged for billing purposes. In the event of an inspection, the system only checks whether the ticket is valid at the time and place of the inspection.

Statistics
Data that helps transport companies to improve their services - for example: when do how many passengers use which lines and where - is stored and processed without any reference to individuals.

Deletion of data
Unless there are statutory retention periods for personal or pseudonymous billing data, all personal or pseudonymous data generated during a journey is deleted or completely anonymised by the EFM operators or customer contract partners.

Transport companies currently issue barcodes as mobile phone tickets. To check them, the smartphone must be switched on. With Motics, it will soon also be possible to save the ticket on the smartphone's NFC chip. But here too, the device must be switched on in order to check the ticket.

In principle, however, it is technically possible to check a ticket on an NFC chip even if the mobile phone is switched off. In practice, however, this is not yet the case.

Passengers who have lost their chip card can easily have their eTicket cancelled by their transport company or the transport association. This can be done in person at the customer centre, by telephone or online. The same applies, of course, in the event of theft.

With check-in / check-out systems (CiCo), the customer holds their user medium up to a terminal or reader to check in. They do the same when changing or alighting. The fare is calculated in the background (automatic fare calculation) and either deducted directly from the credit on the chip card (pre-paid) or invoiced at the end of the month (post-paid).
This automatic fare calculation makes it possible to bill passengers at each stop so that they only have to pay for the kilometres they have travelled.

The basic approach of automatic fare calculation is the same for Be-In / Be-Out systems as for CiCo. However, no active action on the part of the passenger is required. The smartphone or chip card is captured and registered when the passenger enters the vehicle. If the passenger leaves the vehicle, this is also registered and the fare is calculated in the background.

However, this technology is not yet in use in Germany. However, various research projects are underway to test different technologies for their suitability for mass use.

A mixture of check-in/check-out and be-in/be-out systems are check-in/be-out (CiBo) solutions. These are already in use in some countries. Also in Germany.

With CiBo systems, passengers check in with their chip card at the start of their journey in the vehicle and use it to activate a timed fare that is valid for 90 minutes, for example. An active check-out is not necessary. The passenger can travel as much as he or she wants within the 90 minutes.

CiBo is offered for occasional customers in combination with a smartphone app. Here, the passenger opens the transport company's app and checks in to the vehicle via the app. When the passenger gets off, the active location recognition system automatically checks them out.