Public transport passengers across Europe face recurring frustrations: fragmented service information, complex ticketing procedures, language barriers when travelling abroad and the need to download different apps for each operator. These obstacles are particularly acute for tourists, occasional riders, older passengers and digitally excluded users, who often give up on public transport altogether and rely on private cars or taxis instead.
Chat&Go® with MARIA (Mobility Assistant for Routing, Infomobility, Alerts and Disruptions) was created to reduce these barriers. The project combines Chat&Go®, a WhatsApp-based ticketing solution already deployed in several Italian cities, with MARIA, a new artificial intelligence assistant that understands natural language. Passengers start a conversation through WhatsApp, which is used in 188 of 210 countries, and are redirected to a dedicated web interface where they can plan journeys, check real-time information, receive alerts on disruptions and consult fares and buy tickets – all without the need to download an app or create an account.
The main objective of the project is to validate the solution in a real environment and demonstrate its scalability beyond the Italian market. The pilot will be carried out with Arriva Slovenia, a leading public transport operator.
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Public transport passengers face fragmented information and complex ticketing across operators, as well as language barriers and the need to download different apps.
The project unifies ticketing, journey planning, real-time information and disruption alerts into a single conversational flow starting on WhatsApp, removing the need for app downloads and registration.
The project aims to result in over 80% user satisfaction, 20% fewer customer enquiries and improved public transport accessibility for tourists, older people and digitally excluded passengers across European cities.
