Apple Granted Patent For NFC Enabled Transportation And Ticketing App

The US Patent And Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent for a travel app, named iTravel, that handles transportation check-ins using Near Field Communication (NFC) chips built into iPhones or other portable devices.

Apple already gave us a small peek into its vision for the future of the mobile wallet with Passbook, which also had certain travel features incorporated (boarding passes), but iTravel is dedicated solely to travel.

The app aims to simplify the process of ticketing and identification during travel by eliminating the need for the variety of documents needed during transportation check-ins, that include tickets, and photo identification cards.

A method for transportation ticketing check-in, comprising: prompting a traveler to place a handheld electronic device comprising a display and a plurality of wireless communication interfaces within range of a near field communication (NFC) reader; retrieving ticketing and traveler identification information from the NFC interface of the handheld electronic device via the NFC reader; and verifying the traveler's identity using the retrieved traveler identification.

The iTravel app eliminates the need for all these separate requirements by storing the ticket, as well as identification information right in the device. Here's Apple's brief idea of how the process woulf work, edited slightly to remove out the complicated language characteristic to patents:



The app also takes advantage of the location sensors present in iOS devices to present the appropriate ticket, very similar to Passbook.

NFC not only enables the device to communicate with other electronic devices, but also other real-world objects like a printed ticket or a poster which have an RFID tag on them. This interaction method could also be used in the app.


Apple's pretty much described the entire app in the patent, with sketches of practically each view included in the application. To view all the sketches, head over to this pdf copy of the patent application.

The app, presumably via partnerships with various travel services, would include the ability to make reservations for hotel rooms, trains, buses, flights or car rentals. It also integrates within it ways to pay for the reservation, which is important keeping in mind that Apple is reportedly taking a wait and watch approach on mobile payments.