NO CASH, no ticket. Just a wave when you board your bus. This could be the future for users of public transport in Málaga if current trials go well.The city's transport undertaking, EMT, has begun a three-month experiment with brand new technology which will let users pay for their travel tickets using the latest generation mobile phones. The secret is Near Field Communication (NFC) which allows very close range wireless connections between devices. NFC has been described as being like Bluetooth but with a shorter range and easier to use.Once the bus ticket is bought electronically by phone, all the user needs to do on boarding the bus is to wave the phone within four centimetres of a reader to confirm they have paid for the journey. No contact is necessary between the phone and the reader for validation to occur.

Fify passengers try out system
EMT has chosen 50 passengers to try out the system over the coming weeks but is already optimistic about the outcome. EMT's manager, Miguel Ruiz, said last week that the system would reduce the number of steps required to pay for bus fares from three to one. Once the user has set up an account with Mobipay, a secure system which allows a credit card payment to be made from any mobile phone, the details can be entered on the NFC option of the latest mobiles. This can then be accessed with a one-button shortcut by the user. The new generation of phones are expected to become more generally available from the end of the year.The use of NFC is predicted to expand hugely. Experts say it will be used to pay for football and cinema tickets as well as bus fares, and can even be used as the key to a hotel room. Málaga's mayor, Francisco de la Torre, described the development as reinforcing the city's position as the technology capital of Europe.

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