French transit operator Veolia Transport reveals it is ‘ready to go’ for the Bordeaux commercial launch of transport-based mobile ticketing with Near Field Communication (NFC)-based phones.

The company, which provides bus and tram service in Bordeaux under a contract with the local transit authority, is scheduled to participate in the commercial launch of mobile operator France-Telecom-Orange technology in Bordeaux, France. The project was originally programmed to begin in Q1, but it was delayed at least until Q1 2009. Along Veolia Transport, participating in the project are LaSer, the credit loyalty card division of retail Groupe Galeries Lafayette and media firm Clear Channel, which owns outdoor advertising in the city. Company advisor Dominique Descolas told the Card&Payments publication that in France everything is in place except the availability of NFC-enabled mobile-phones. French mobile operators and such service providers as banks and transit operators are also discussing the business case for rolling out NFC.

Veolia would like to see France’s two other major mobile-network operators, namely SFR and Bouygues Telecom, join the Bordeaux project. Until then, Orange, part of France Telecom Group, will launch the program as the sole mobile operator. The NFC project in Bordeaux was postponed due to problems with integrating contactless readers and terminals into the point-of-sale system of at least one large chain participating in the launch. Also, the Bordeaux-area transit authority is rebidding its contract for transit services, but Veolia expects to have its contract renewed. Veolia Transport has already participated in two NFC trials in France, near Nice in 2006 and Marseilles in 2007.