Innovation prize in transport for ASK

Specialized in smart cards without contact, the start-up from Sophia Antipolis is completely changing the concept of bus tickets. It was given the prize of the International Union of Transport, in Bologne.

ASK is currently thriving. The start-up from Sophia Antipolis, specialized in smart cards without contact, lately received the innovation prize of the International Union of Transport, in Bologne, in Italy. A prize that rewards the leading product of the firm, launched in 1997 : a revolutionary bus ticket.ASK is currently recruitingFrom now, it is useless to stamp this high tech ticket putting it in the recorder. The concept got a first great contract with the firm Sunbus in Nice : in January 1999, 100.000 cards were bought, while the setting up of the system was over in late December, and 80.000 further cards were ordered. Moreover, the SEMIACS (a Mixed Investment Company between localities, to improve traffic, car parks, and transport) hopes a lot from this card, because it can offer much more other uses than the mere ticket without contact (especially the uses of e-purse or of access checking).ASK, that has already sold cards for the common transport networks in Amiens and in Avignon, with its partner Ascom Monétel, should also sign other contracts in Rennes, Lyon and Strasbourg. The start-up also managed to make a breakthrough in the billetic applications : the football club of Glasgow Rangers ordered 50.000 cards for both reservation and payment of seats, as well as for yearly subscriptions.All those contracts allow the firm to be propelled. Besides, in the middle of last year, a meeting with Le Crédit Lyonnais provided it with means, to reach this aim (a 27 million franc contribution of capital). Thus, around thirty people are being recruited (engineers, people in sales, and project managers).