Belgium Travels Across the Country and Across Borders with Ask Interoperable Contactless Card

Oct. 31, 2012
The Belgian networks De Lijn, the public transport operator of Flanders region and TEC, the public transport company of Walloon Region and Interparking, the main owner of parking lots in Belgium, have selected Ask as the supplier of interoperable contactless smartcards for transportation in Belgium.

The Belgian networks De Lijn, the public transport operator of Flanders region and TEC, the public transport company of Walloon Region and Interparking, the main owner of parking lots in Belgium, have selected Ask as the supplier of interoperable contactless smartcards for transportation in Belgium.

MOBIB application is shared by the four transportation networks in Belgium, STIB, SNCB, De Lijn and TEC and allows users to go around the country on all transport modes with a single card.

Apart from current and future value added services, the card includes Triangle application keys. The French standard AFIMB (French Agency for Information about Multimodality and Ticketing) is based on Triangle standard, and was launched to promote the interoperability of French ticketing systems and border crossing.

The MOBIB cards are based on Ask TanGO CT 4018 EMV-compliant contactless card, embedding
increased cryptography and a triple DES security level, to allow each operator and service provider to
keep its customers database independent and self managed.

"We have selected Ask for its long experience in transport teleticketing, its expertise in dual
interface cards and the TanGO OS performance in terms of security, flexibility and
transaction speed, combined with a competitive unit price," states Roger Kesteloot, De Lijn
general manager.

TanGO benefits from a banking-like security level, is compliant with Calypso standard and, in the case
of Belgium MOBIB card, supports six types of different applications.

  • The ticketing application to travel on the whole network
  • The Triangle application for border crossing interoperability
  • The transport electronic purse to use the card as a contactless payment medium
  • The “services” application to create partnerships with third parties
  • The “mobility” application to interface with soft mobility
  • The “parking” application to allow parking access control

If each transit operator has its own artwork and own business model, the card is nonetheless
compatible with parking lots, buses, metro, tramways and trains on the whole territory and can be
used for card sharing and bike rental services.

This service is already implemented in Brussels, where people, travelers and other commuters use
more and more transportation modes: they ride their bike, their car, take then a public transport,
take back their folding bike and hop in another public transport.

Roland Cracco, managing director in Interparking, says, “A full and seamless intermodality can be efficient only if mobility actors are fully involved in the transportation stream. Several partnerships may enhance the card’s holder experience in the future and he will be able to use his card as a contactless payment card for his transportation fees. The card turns out to be the perfect medium for multiapplication."

"Contactless technology facilitates our daily life and will no doubt do the same for the millions of
Belgian citizens and visitors who will use a single card for several services," says Patrick Sure, director
of the transport business unit in Ask. "TanGO flexibility will pave the way to border crossing
commuting.”

To cross borders, Triangle application addresses commuting between two bordering countries or an
occasional long distance trip. The cards’ holders will soon be able to load a ticket for Lille city from or
to Belgium, for instance, and benefit from a single card for daily commuting to go to work.