In 2001, NXP and its partner company Magnadata realized that the passenger transit market had accepted card based electronic ticketing solutions utilizing NXP’s MIFARE technology, but Transit Operators still required different solutions for some of their customers. While commuters happily adopted their electronic transit cards, it seemed too expensive to issue smart cards to tourists or single-ride customers. But with two systems in place for smart cards and the conventional paper tickets, Public Transport Operators could not fully realize the advantages of modern automated fare collection systems.
To solve this problem, NXP teamed up with Magnadata - who had many years of experience in manufacturing low-cost ticketing solutions- to develop a smart paper ticketing system. The MIFARE Ultralight smart paper ticket was born and warmly welcomed by public transport operators.
They instantly realized the potential as either a complementary solution for existing MIFARE systems or even as an AFC scheme based fully on smart paper tickets. In both cases, transport operators are able to fully benefit from contactless electronic ticketing solutions such as reduced maintenance costs for the reader infrastructure, less fraud and minimized cash-handling within the systems.
Since its launch 2002, MIFARE Ultralight was being used in cities such as Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Dubai, Oslo, Amsterdam and many more. As it was being used not only in transit but also in event access management, it'll be exciting to see what the next ten years hold in store for MIFARE Ultralight! Happy Anniversary, MIFARE Ultralight!
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