Business Challenge
CCJPA’s current onboard ticketing service is dependent on paper-based procedures. Conductors, who must make their way through a large number of passengers on the train between each stop, are challenged with the tasks of properly validating tickets quickly and thoroughly, tracking when passengers board and exit the train, and accessing updated price list Tariff books for current fares based on origination and destination stations. An automated scanning solution would obviously improve the situation, but the conductors must remain very mobile, meaning no extensive equipment can be carried around for scanning, processing, printing receipts, etc. Also, because tickets are sold in various ways (kiosks at stations, online, on the train, etc.), the validation of the tickets must take into account a master list of valid tickets from different sources, regardless of the origination of the sale. This includes consolidating information from other sources as well as tracking ticket types and usage so that a single-ride ticket cannot be used more than once and multi-ride tickets are not used more than allowed or outside the life of that ticket. In addition, certain tickets may be reported stolen or invalid for some reason, and those identified tickets must quickly be identified on trains and not honored. A centralized system that consolidates all of the train information must be provided for CCJPA officials to manage and oversee the daily operations. This system would be a central location to maintain information about invalid/used tickets, sales promotions, passenger ridership, and conductor usage. A user-friendly and efficient way of accessing the data both for updates as well as dynamic and ad-hoc reporting is essential to the adoption of this solution.
Solution
Oracle provides industry-leading technology for key components to this solution, including the scalable and robust Oracle database, the Oracle SOA Suite for integration, and Oracle Application Express for reporting and user interfaces. Oracle BPEL Process Manager easily handles the complex and timely integration requirements between the handheld devices and the central management system as well as between the central management system and other systems that provide feeds of ticket sales information, fare lists, etc. Using a SOA-based approach, CCJPA can reduce implementation time while also maximizing scalability, flexibility, and reusability. The BPEL processes can be exposed as Web Services that are called from the handheld devices to communicate with the central management system. With the large amounts of data and extreme performance requirements (including rapid searches of large ticket tables, etc.), the Oracle database provides an ideal solution to ensure success on this project. In addition to the database’s industry-leading set of features and functionality, the ease of clustering the database makes it very attractive for this solution. Real Application Clusters (RAC) enable additional scaling and options for high availability within this solution. Finally, the last component that is key to this solution is the ability to quickly and effectively provide user interfaces that help users manage the central system, which is based on the Oracle database as described above. Oracle provides a database-driven tool called Oracle Application Express that renders Web applications and includes security, support for Web Service interaction, and robust reporting tools. The user interface screens allow different resources to have different levels of access as well as providing some very comprehensive reporting and ad-hoc information gathering tools. Since the base of this solution is the SOA integration, the easy interaction with Web Services also opens the door to more options for managing the communications within Application Express and the overall solution.
Results
The obvious benefits of this project include the ability for conductors to much more quickly and reliably validate tickets of passengers on a train. The ability to scan and immediately know if the ticket is valid is a very helpful tool for the conductors and significantly cuts the possibility of fraud. In addition, the added functionality that assists with managing passenger boarding and leaving the train help for safety measures so there is always an accurate passenger list for the trains. Onboard ticket sales using credit cards is also a very significant benefit since now the credit cards can be verified on the spot and a response can be provided to the conductor regarding the charge. This added feature improves the convenience for travelers. From a management standpoint, the solution provides substantially more visibility to the overall business activities taking place. A change in a train fare no longer results in a need to reprint all the fare guides because that fare change can be entered into the central system and it will be integrated to each of the handhelds. Since data for this solution is not yet available, actual numbers in terms of time saved, increased sales, invalid ticket rejections, etc. cannot be provided at this time. However, the added features of this system will undoubtedly make a big impact on the CCJPA daily operations and overall business efficiency. |
