Eurail Group G.I.E.
by Valeria Croce | Nov 16, 2018
ORGANISATION
Name of the Organisation: Eurail Group G.I.E.
Organisation Short Name: Eurail Group
Organisation Type: OTH
Country: Netherlands
ACTIVITY
Topic(s) of interest from 2018-2019 Transport Work Programme:- MG-4-5-2019: An inclusive digitally interconnected transport system meeting citizens' needs
Fields of Activity: The Eurail Group is a group of economic interest owned by 35 European railway and shipping companies. The group is in charge of managing, marketing and distributing the Eurail and Interrail passes, which provide flexible and unlimited access to the transport network of its members (around 250 000 km of train tracks and other routes over land and water). Over half million customers travel across Europe with an Eurail or Interrail pass every year. The Eurail Group is undergoing a process to digitalise its operations. More specifically, the company is developing 1) a single e-ticketing solution valid across its European network and 2) a mobile application (the App) which supports pass holders with trip planning and pass usage (activation, validation and travel behaviour tracking). The e-ticketing solution and the MVP version of the App will be piloted in a single country (Italy) in 2019. Regular customers from all over the world will be able to purchase e-tickets and use the App for their travel across Italy’s railway network and on some maritime routes via ferry. From 2020 onwards, the Eurail Group plans to scale up the use of the e-ticketing solution and App on its entire European network.
Skills and Experise Offered: The Eurail Group is interested in participating as partner to a consortium for the call MG-4-5-2018. We envisage the Eurail Group's contribution to research testing barriers to adopt e-ticketing solutions and mobile applications in a real-life setting, during the scale-up of the adoption of its IT solutions. More specifically we offer:
1. An international dimension to the proposal: the Eurail group sells passes all over the world (a 50:50 balance between European and overseas markets); around 2/3 of travellers use our rail passes to visit multiple countries across Europe, the remaining share visits multiple places within a single European country.
2. A unique European platform for multimodal transportation: while predominantly associated with rail travel, Eurail and Interrail passes give access to multiple modes of transport (ferry and bus can be accessed with the Pass on selected routes). The GIE is currently the only provider of cross-national multimodal transportation in Europe.
3. Prior knowledge on travellers barriers to adopt digital solutions: the Eurail Group plans to conduct research on barriers during the pilot phase of the e-ticketing solution and mobile application in 2019; relevant parts of the information gathered can be shared with the consortium for the research design. Relevant information about rail travel behaviour in general can also be shared for the preparation of the proposal. The Eurail Group has conducted some research activities on travel barriers for seniors and people with reduced mobility.
4. Research expertise: the Eurail Group Travel Business Intelligence team has solid and extensive experience with the design and implementation of sound research projects using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Keywords: Rail international passenger transport; e-ticketing solutions; rail planner mobile App; travel behaviour research.
Previous FP Projects Participated: None.
CONTACT
Contact Person: Valeria Croce
Position in the Organisation: Manager Travel Business Intelligence
Telephone: +32492071857
Email: v.croce@eurailgroup.org
