Technibus – Since the launch of TOP, what improvements have been made to improve the system and the platform?

Rodney Freitas – Before we mention what has been done to improve TOP, I would like to tell you a little about its development and what it means in terms of innovation for human mobility. OTOP is an integrated services platform that unites urban mobility to the lives of all citizens, with an accessible language for the target audience. The TOP platform was launched less than a year and a half ago, when we introduced two important digital innovations to the market in December 2020, the TOP Application and the Digital Ticket QR Code. It is a short time for such transformative changes in public transport, especially if we remember that until the end of 2020 access to rail transport only occurred through the magnetic ticket Edmonson, until then sold only at ticket offices at stations and with cash as the only form of payment.

Since then, we have gradually implemented a series of innovations in products and services, always with the main objective of simplifying people's lives, improving electronic ticketing and means of payment for public transport in the capital and metropolitan region of São Paulo . This is the true purpose of Autopass, put into practice in São Paulo, one of the largest metropolises in the world, through the TOP platform. In 2021, we introduced the purchase of the QR Code ticket via WhatsApp and also launched the TOP SP Card, an option that would replace the BOM card this year, with other important features available to people, such as the digital account and the debit and credit functions . These last three financial services features are only available to customers who are interested.

Today, we already have significant numbers that show the advancement and consolidation of the TOP platform, both from the point of view of technical delivery of products and services as well as passenger acceptance. We have already surpassed the mark of one million TOP cards issued, we have more than 1.4 million entries in the TOP application and the QR Code Digital Tickets used in transport have already surpassed 160 million units sold. In addition, we currently manage around 4.5 million transactions daily. We still have a long way to go and our goal remains to work with a focus on constantly improving people's mobility.

Technibus – What are the main difficulties in making a transition from one platform to another, as happened with BOM to TOP?

Rodney Freitas – The transition from the BOM card to the TOP was an important step in the process of modernizing the means of payment in public transport in the capital and the metropolitan region of São Paulo, so everything was done in a very planned way, with well-defined stages of Implementation. TOP can already be seen today as a more advanced version compared to BOM, as it brings new alternatives for services and functionalities. Accepted on the Metro, CPTM and EMTU intercity buses, TOP innovates by offering the option of adding digital account functions, with a debit or credit card, democratizing access to financial services. Another action taken to contribute to the journey and experience of passengers in the transition phase between cards was the maintenance of BOM card credits, which can be used without an expiry date until the balance is used up. In addition, the R$ 1.50 discount was maintained in the integration between buses and rails. In the case of buses, all intercity lines managed by EMTU have been accepting the TOP SP card since March of this year. The transition to TOP in the benefits of free school passes on buses and transport vouchers on rails was also quite challenging in recent months, and in both cases, we have already seen significant advances in implementation.

Technibus – What is the partnership between Autopass and V8 Consulting about?

Rodney Freitas – It is a technological partnership, in which V8 Consulting supports us with end-to-end and multicloud solutions, working from infrastructure to data management and virtualization projects, big data and artificial intelligence. Recently, Autopass adopted a redundant architecture based on Oracle Cloud VMware Solution (OCVS) with V8 Consulting, as it was necessary to expand our data processing capacity and network performance without compromising the operation. The migration allowed us to increase the capacity from 35 million to 66 million daily transactions, reaching up to 240 million. The solution also provided us with better processing and memory rates, with stability, performance and high availability.

Technibus – How does Autopass evaluate the digitization process in public transport?

Rodney Freitas – There is a lot of room to advance in the digitalization of public transport, and we work to build these bridges, while also being a player that contributes to the daily journey of users and better use of resources by our partners. In general, not only in public transport, the movement towards digital solutions is determined both by the advancement of technology and also by the natural demands of consumers themselves. People are increasingly digitized, access to technology is greatly facilitated and the expectation for palm-of-the-hand solutions grows every day. Still, we've been working on the trend we call 'Phygital', which combines digital and physical solutions. This is part of a digital transformation process. At the same time that we created digital and innovative sales channels considering the change in behavior of public transport users, such as the TOP Application and WhatsApp TOP, we also expanded from two thousand to more than eight thousand the number of accredited commercial establishments for sale of tickets and purchase of TOP credits. This 'Figital' concept is also present in the QR Code tickets, available today in digital and printed paper versions. In public transport, it is always essential to think of solutions that are viable for all types of public.

Technibus – What are the main trends in the sector?

Rodney Freitas – The mobility sector, as its name suggests, is very dynamic. There is a lot of room to innovate and this goes far beyond technological evolution. It also requires a good combination of teamwork, a long-term vision and a focus on solutions that can actually contribute to people's journeys on their journeys. The TOP platform is a good example of a set of solutions designed based on recent trends identified, for example, during the pandemic. It was necessary to accelerate the flow in displacements, avoid agglomerations, create payment solutions without physical approach and mandatory handling of money. Through the new products that we have developed and launched, passengers are now able to evaluate the best payment option and plan their trips with the advance purchase of their tickets. It is the simplification of the journey happening through the modernization of processes. In urban mobility, the vision of the future requires that trends be analyzed more and more quickly and that solutions are also implemented with the same agility.

Technibus – What are the company's innovations in terms of products and contracts?

Rodney Freitas – Autopass is the largest private company of solutions for mobility and electronic ticketing in Brazil and its purpose is to simplify human mobility with new solutions and technologies, through tools adapted to any type of platform and operation, always putting the customer in the strategy center. We have been operating for over 12 years in the largest public transport network in Latin America, one of the largest in the world. We are in a market that represents more than 40% of mobility in Brazil, serving a base of more than four million active customers.

This experience enables us to work with our services in several other regions of the country and the world and to continue developing solutions that impact and simplify the lives of people and our partners and customers. We have new challenges ahead and plans to continuously expand the business, bringing solutions aimed at health, education and entertainment, for example, expanding TOP's services. Still in the first half of this year, we will bring news regarding mobility in tires. We keep working and challenging ourselves to increasingly improve mobility products and services.

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