Turkish company Kentkart is preparing its arrival in Spain to implement new forms of payment on trains and buses

• The company intend to establish agreements and alliances with transport operators, technology companies, and integrators.

Madrid, July 5^th 2024.

Behind the contactless smart cards to enter the subway or soccer tickets that became bus tickets during the World Cup in Qatar is the Turkish company Kentkart. A company with 25 years of experience that is now preparing its arrival in Spain, a market that it places as a “priority” in Europe, according to the company’s CEO, Çinar Basmaci, in an interview with EL ESPAÑOL-Invertia.

“In the specific case of Spain, we are fully aware that this market is much more advanced than others around it, both in terms of infrastructure and adoption of new technologies. For this reason, Spain has become our priority in Europe” he explains.

It should be noted that our country has an extensive public transportation network that includes subways, buses, commuter trains, and trams. The size, diversity, and multimodality of this transportation network are what have attracted the company.

Its arrival in Spain is imminent, although the company cannot yet reveal the specific projects on which it will embark. They assure that they are very interested in establishing agreements and alliances with transit operators, technology companies, and integrators in Spain.

“We believe that these collaborations are essential to expand our solutions and adapt our technologies to the local market” Mr. Çinar points out.

This includes partnerships with public transport operators to integrate their technologies into existing systems, collaborations with technology companies to develop joint solutions, and working with integrators to facilitate the implementation and maintenance of their platforms.

But it also includes collaborations with large regions, such as Madrid and Andalusia. In the Madrid area, the CEO highlights the public transport card, which facilitates access to buses, subways, and trains with a single means of payment.

“At Kentkart, we can leverage these advances by offering our advanced integrated payment system solutions. Our technologies enable payments through mobile applications and automatic recharges, complementing the card,” he suggests. A similar solution is proposed to complement the Seville metro card and similar ones in Granada and Malaga.

In large cities, “our solutions can address the complex challenges of urban transport, improving operational efficiency, reducing waiting times, and offering a superior user experience,” he says.

They do not rule out alliances and agreements with smaller cities and operators. Not only are Madrid and Barcelona European and global benchmarks, but public transport in cities such as Valencia, Zaragoza, and Bilbao has also attracted the company’s attention.

In these smaller regions, where they often face resource constraints, “our technology offers a viable option to optimize their daily operations without compromising service quality,” he says.

In general terms, their solutions can optimize routes and schedules, reducing fuel consumption and maintenance costs.

They can also provide detailed information on revenues, passenger flows, and operational bottlenecks, which facilitates informed decision-making and ensures transparency in the fare collection process. Finally, real-time vehicle tracking improves fleet management.

Investment in Spain

For its entry into our country, Mr. Çinar Basmaci details that investments will focus on human resources, leveraging local talent, promoting R&D, and collaborating with the emerging technology ecosystem, all with the aim of transforming and modernizing public transport in the country.

At Kentkart, they manufacture all their products in Turkey and do not outsource any part of the production process. “This strategy allows us to maintain total control over the quality and innovation of our intelligent transport solutions, a philosophy we want to transfer to Spain,” he says.

The CEO recognizes that Spain is a benchmark in mobility for many Spanish-speaking countries. Therefore, “the successful implementation of our intelligent transportation solutions in Spain not only benefits its citizens but also serves as a role model for other nations where we hope to enter in the medium term,” he adds.