ShuttleID launches pass for ‘brick’ phones
ShuttleID, the school bus ticketing platform, has launched a new style of digital bus ticket for use with ‘brick’ phones. The new ‘Brickets’ development is designed to support an emerging trend of brick phone adoption by parents of school children.
ShuttleID’s new brick phone ticket technology is driven by a QR code that displays on the phone, which is then scanned by the driver’s device. ShuttleID developed and identified up to six different ways to transfer the digital ticket onto a brick phone, working with the hardware constraints. The development means that passengers can now use bus tickets that are printed, on a smartphone or on a brick phone.
Following concerns about the impact of smartphones on children’s education and behaviour, calls have been growing to ban smartphones, not only inside the classroom but beyond. Earlier this year, the UK’s Commons education committee recommended that the government considers a total ban on smartphones for under-16s.
With smartphone bans already in place in other countries, UK schools and parents are taking matters into their own hands. One parent pact, signed by parents across 8,100 schools, aims to delay smartphone adoption amongst school children until year 9. Schools have advocated and provisioned ‘brick’ style phones without access to apps or internet for younger students.
“The change means operators can inclusively support any type of bus ticket, whether it’s printed, on a smartphone or on a brick phone” – ShuttleID director, Chris Bell
ShuttleID director, Chris Bell, said: “This topic has gained momentum in the past year, and as parents with young children ourselves, the impact of social media and smartphones is something we’re mindful of. Over the years transport has become deeply embedded into smartphone usage. Brickets aims to break that dependency and helps transport operators normalise brick phone usage amongst school children. The change means operators can inclusively support any type of bus ticket, whether it’s printed, on a smartphone or on a brick phone.”
- ShuttleID is to demonstrate Brickets and their ticketing platform at the Euro Bus Expo at the NEC, Birmingham, on 12 – 14 November.