Now it takes a single click to make a purchase, and an account can be set up in less than 10 seconds with just 3 clicks and two entries. That’s because, on 6 January 2025, the Nordhessischer VerkehrsVerbund (NVV) replaced their digital ticketing system for public transportation in North Hesse—and switched to Yatta Platform.

“We want to make it as convenient as possible for people to get on public buses and trains. We need to remove all obstacles or barriers—and make public transportation as accessible as possible,” says NVV Managing Director Marian Volmer. “The use of state-of-the-art technology is key to offering our passengers the service they ought to expect in 2025. This includes an up-to-date user interface design and a brilliantly simple technology to process online purchases and sales. We are now implementing this in North Hesse together with Yatta.”

The relevance of mobility for urban and rural areas

It’s common sense that local public transport needs to be strengthened to meet the mobility needs of hundreds of thousands of people in urban and rural regions today. There’s just not enough space left for cars and roads in city centers. What motorist hasn’t experienced their own endless search for an affordable parking spot?

24 million public transport passengers every day. That’s how many people the Association of German Transport Companies (in German: Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen, VDV) and its 600 member organizations (of which the NVV is one) serve. In 2023, the German Federal Statistics Office (in German: Statistisches Bundesamt, Destatis) recorded nearly 10.9 billion passenger journeys, covering more than 100 billion passenger-kilometers, on Germany's scheduled bus and rail network. In the first nine months of 2024, passenger numbers rose by around 6.5% and the total distance traveled by around 11% compared with the same period in the previous year.

North Hesse is located in the middle of Europe and is the geographical center of Germany in terms of transport infrastructure. The network operated by the NVV in North Hesse spans 7,000 km², which is more than a million times the size of Kassel’s Auestadion football pitch. And the region’s 7,113 km network of public transport routes equates to more than 48 times the distance between Kassel and Frankfurt. Every year, passengers in North Hesse travel more than 480 million km by public transport—that’s more than three times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Technology in public transportation

Currently, digital tickets in the NVV network are sold via the NVV-App and the NVV-Abocenter der KVG, while physical tickets are available at NVV customer centers and ticket offices, as well as via ticket machines at stops and in certain vehicles around the network. A KPMG report ‘The Future of Public Transport’ states that “today’s travelers are demanding modern services that are digital, personalized, flexible and universally accessible” a trend that will likely lead to less reliance on physical tickets and passes and the infrastructure that accompanies them.

The ease of booking a ticket in Delhi

Looking outside of Germany and at other parts of the world, digitization of public transportation is already further along—especially in metropolitan areas and urban centers. For example, in Delhi, India, with a population of 21 million, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) introduced new ticketing media, new channels to purchase tickets, and new ways to pay in 2024—all based on passenger needs and with the vision of making the commuter experience in Delhi Metro a delight. They even won an award for their ‘ease of booking’ program. And there’s more: Since November 2024, a Delhi Metro collaboration allows visitors to book tickets for historical monuments of India directly through DMRC's app.

New York’s MTA merges three apps in one

On the other side of the globe, in New York, USA, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) merged three apps into one. In August 2022, they launched a one-stop journey planning, ticket purchasing and real-time train location app. This made travel much more convenient for passengers, who previously had to juggle multiple tickets in multiple apps for one journey. Within the first 15 hours of its launch, nearly 50,000 users downloaded the app, the MTA reported.

Passengers in Eindhoven hop on and off

Here in Europe, in 2022, Eindhoven in the Netherlands adopted a “be in, be out” approach for their new Mobyyou app. On the passenger’s phone, the app detects when they get on and off public transport without needing any action or input. And it lets them pay for their journeys via a Bluetooth connection. The app’s developers pledge: “This means no more standing in line. No need for multiple accounts. Or having to pay with a physical card.”

What convenience means in public transport

These examples show that convenience and usability are an essential part of the passenger experience in public transportation. This is also stated in the OECD Roundtable Report of International Transport Forum (ITF). While there’s no general consensus on what convenience represents in a public transport context, and the term is used in the report without explicit definition, it states that ease of use and fewer hurdles for passengers are at least part of the equation.

The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) points to digitization as a driver of passenger convenience and usability. In an article on making the most of digitization in public transport, the UITP writes that digitizing processes and products such as ticketing can greatly improve the passenger experience and deliver efficiencies within the product lifecycle. A paper on ‘Capturing digital value within public transport’ published by the UITP in May 2024 states, “technology and data lie at the heart of transport services and operations” and concludes that digitization is “an imperative […] to deliver safe and reliable public transport.”

The updated NVV-App—with Yatta Checkout

To help make public transport more accessible in North Hesse (our home region), the NVV wants to offer greater convenience and usability for all passengers by improving their digital ticketing. The relaunched NVV-App aims to improve the user experience by offering a secure, seamless and user-friendly solution to purchase and manage digital tickets. Moreover, we have also significantly reduced the costs for the NVV as a result.

This video shows the ticket purchasing flow in the updated NVV-App with Yatta Checkout: Using technology to make travel more convenient, the NVV and Yatta want to increase overall mobility in the region—and ultimately contribute to a more efficient and passenger-centric public transport system.

The most important new features

Streamlined user accounts

Passengers can log in with their email address or via social logins using their Google, Apple, Microsoft or similar user accounts. Information required for ticket purchases, all invoices, and any ticket subscriptions (coming soon) are stored and can be processed there.

Expanded payment options

Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit card payments via Visa, Mastercard, American Express or SEPA direct debit are available as payment methods. We plan to continuously expand and extend the range of available payment services.

Purchase with one click

Once passengers are registered and have made their first purchase, they can use the payment and billing information securely stored in the NVV-App to purchase tickets with a “one-click” purchase.

Invoices direct to your inbox

Passengers receive their invoices conveniently by email or can download them from their user account at any time.

Available tickets and fares

From 6 January 2025, the new system will initially offer short-distance and one-way tickets, as well as SparTickets and MultiTickets. Other ticket types and season tickets will be gradually added in the following months.

Data protection and security

Data protection (privacy) and data security are also guaranteed and future-proof with the new system. We also minimize the collection of personal data. For example, we do not set dozens of cookies and we only share personal data with partners who are essential for the provision of services.

International & multilingual

The new functions are available in German and English; other languages may be added in the future according to demand.

Human-centric design

Yatta Checkout is designed to fit seamlessly into its environment (e.g., into the NVV-App)—and to always put user needs first. We hope you like it, and welcome all feedback, whether it's praise or criticism.

Further functions, extensions and improvements will be added in the future. Our goal for our partnership with the NVV is to provide brilliantly simple access to public transportation—for everyone.