Kentkart and Sherpa.ai to test AI-powered fare management, starting with pilots in Spain

Public transport ticketing technology provider Kentkart and artificial intelligence company Sherpa.ai have entered a partnership to explore the integration of artificial intelligence into account-based public transport fare management.

The collaboration will combine Sherpa.ai’s Private AI technology with Kentkart’s Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) platform, with initial pilot projects planned in Spain and potential subsequent deployment in other European and Latin American markets, according to Kentkart.

The companies will work on AI applications covering passenger demand prediction, fare policy simulation, fraud detection and personalized pricing strategies within public transport ticketing systems.

Kentkart and Sherpa.ai bring AI to account-based ticketing

Kentkart says the partnership will examine how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into fare management processes used by public transport authorities and operators.

One area of development will concern passenger demand forecasting. The companies also plan to explore the use of AI to simulate different fare policies and assess fare-management scenarios before their implementation.

Fraud detection is another field included in the cooperation, alongside the development of more personalized approaches to public transport pricing.

In brief

• What have Kentkart and Sherpa.ai announced?
  They have partnered to explore AI applications within Kentkart’s Account-Based Ticketing platform.
• Which applications will be tested?
  The cooperation covers demand prediction, fare-policy simulation, fraud detection and personalized pricing.
• Where will the first projects take place?
  Spain will be the starting point for joint pilot projects.
• Will passenger and operator data remain private?
  Kentkart says Sherpa.ai’s Private AI will allow data to remain within transport authorities’ and operators’ organizations.

The technology will be integrated with Kentkart’s Account-Based Ticketing platform. In an ABT architecture, the passenger’s travel account is used to manage ticketing transactions and fare calculation rather than relying exclusively on a ticket or physical medium containing the fare product.

According to Kentkart, the collaboration is aimed at developing fare systems capable of responding to passenger travel patterns through data-based fare management tools.

Private AI technology to keep transport data within organizations

A specific element of the partnership concerns the use of Sherpa.ai’s Private AI technology. According to Kentkart, the approach will allow the proposed AI capabilities to be developed while keeping operators’ and transport authorities’ data within their own organizations.

The companies plan to use Spain as the starting market for joint pilot projects. Kentkart states that the cooperation subsequently has the ambition to extend the solutions to other European and Latin American markets.

No details have been disclosed concerning the transport authorities or operators that will participate in the Spanish pilots, their launch dates or the commercial timetable for the technologies developed through the partnership.