A simple and secure e-ticketing system for intelligent public transportation based on NFC

E-ticketing systems for public transportation (ESPT) are an integral part of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) which shape the urban environment of the future. The wide deployment of ESPT around the world has proven its success and demonstrated large potential. However, till now the majority of such systems being in operation adhere to the specific standards which are often closed. In this paper, we aim at suggesting an open and secure e-ticketing architecture which provides an alternative to the conventional paper-based ticketing and is customizable for different tariff schemes. Our solution is based on NFC which should facilitate its interoperability with value-added services (from the third parties as well) and pave the way to its convergence with other applications comprising an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem in the urban environment. The suggested architecture covers the main processes specific to the ESPT scenario and provides for e-ticket unclonability, unforgeability as well as for protection from tapping and replay attacks. Finally, the results of practical validation using real hardware are presented to demonstrate the real-world pertinence of our solution.