Simplifying payments,
are
We’re growing fast
We’re working hard to make a positive impact. With every new deployment, we strive to improve the environment and strengthen the local communities we serve.
Our heritage in transit fare collection spans three decades. In 2019, we launched ‘Kuba’ to bring fresh ideas to the mobility payments space.
Based on in-depth market research and industry experience, we launched a mobility platform that’s fast, simple and cost-effective to deploy. With open architecture enabling layers of integration, it answers transit operators’ needs now and in the future.
Kuba Group is growing fast and attracts talent from all over the world. Today it has over 250 employees in five offices and its technology is used in over 500 cities and regions globally.
Kuba is a member of the ICM Mobility Group, an investor in mobility solutions with a clear focus on driving a new era of digital payments.
30 years experience in fare collection
30% year on year growth in 2023
250 people in five regional offices Enabling mobility in more than
500 cities & regions
30m annual turnover in 2023
ONE new city or region deployed Kuba tech each week in 2023
Our culture of
innovation
Kuba people love problems. Satisfying our desire to challenge the status quo, a problem creates an opportunity to do things differently to get the best possible outcome.
We move fast and fearlessly towards solutions, and we don’t stop until a job is done. In the Kubaverse, that’s when a customer is truly happy and their trust has been earned.
Our mobility platform
Cloud-based and future ready
Our scalable, account-based ticketing engine is the foundation. Transit agencies can build on this flexible solution to launch contactless payments and Mobility-as-a-Service. They select the technology and switch-on only the features they need.
Configurable and adaptable
Kuba’s powerful back office provides a nerve-centre of multi-operator, multimodal fare systems. Transit operators can use an intuitive portal to define fares and travel products and manage connected devices, mobile apps and information systems.
Supporting operators of all sizes
Our agile solution meets the needs of any sized operation, from a single bus route to a regional network. Standard agreements and onboarding make it simple to set-up a pilot, use live data to optimise systems – and then roll-out with confidence.
Mobility without barriers Plan, book, pay and explore in Dallas county, USA
Seamless multioperator ticketing in Tuscany, Italy
In 2019, Kuba managed the transition to a multi-operator ticketing system in Tuscany, Italy.
In this large region, with close to 4 million inhabitants, Kuba supported Autolinee Toscane, an RATP Dev company, to take control of more than 20 independent bus operators. The change was managed by Kuba’s team overnight without missing a beat!
• More than 400,000 users are registered to the account-based ticketing system
• Kuba enabled the acceptance of a National ID card as a token to travel
• Riders can prepay for tickets and passes online, or at 3,000 points of sale
• In 2023, the value of sales increased by nearly 20 percent year on year
• >6000 validators installed in buses will switch-on open payment functionality in early 2024
In 2013, Kuba developed the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) GoPass® app.
In close collaboration with DART, it has evolved from a simple mobile ticketing app into one of the United States’ most comprehensive Mobilityas-a-Service (MaaS) solutions:
• Unifies public transport, on-demand mobility, microtransit and paratransit
• Integrates real-time multimodal trip planning, bookings, ticketing and payments
• Supports cash-to-mobile, fare capping, and Genfare electronic barcode validation
• Events promotion module provides a marketing opportunity for local events
• Riders can opt to receive helpful real-time service alerts and push notifications
Winner of the American Public Transit Association (APTA) 2019 innovation award.
2m downloads, 60k reviews, average app store rating 4.8/5.
Trusted by
Facing the problem of cash in South Africa
A major focus for Kuba is enabling a cashless future for South Africa’s mobility ecosystem.
• Cash fare collection is expensive and labour intensive
• Handling cash is a security risk and a personal safety hazard
• Associations and operators have no valuable payment data
• Commuters can’t easily track what they spend on travel
• Fare models are complex and it’s hard to get the best value
Major milestone reached
Kuba has developed a solution to digitise payments across South Africa’s commuter taxis.
• In 2023, Kuba launched two Automated Fare Collection (AFC) pilots on taxis
• Phase 1 enabled the acceptance of MIFARE® DESFire® closed-loop card
• Further development in 2024 will switch-on SANRAL CiPurse acceptance
Following this, Kuba will deploy account-based ticketing (ABT), and the system will accept both CiPurse and open payments (using an EMV bank card or device).
Fast-track to interoperability
ABT provides an industry-wide way forward. It enables operators to move away from cash payments towards an account-based system where a smartcard or contactless EMV card is registered as a token for travel, and travel rights are managed in a back office.
The ABT approach can be scaled to provide interoperable payments across the multimodal transport ecosystem, including buses, bus rapid transit, commuter rail and minibus taxis.
Trusted by
Empowering communities
Kuba solutions make it easy to plan journeys, book tickets, and pay for mobility services. However riders want to travel, however they want to pay, we make it simple.
We’re proud to bring this effortless rider experience to South Africa, working with organisations across the country to accelerate the digitisation of ticketing and payments.
Our customers in the traditional bus, bus rapid transit, commuter rail and taxi sectors are unlocking the benefits of removing cash from their systems. These include cutting the cost of cash handling, enhancing safety and improving passenger experience.
South Africa’s future matters to us. We believe in making an impact, driving positive change, improving lives and creating opportunities. We’ve achieved B-BEEE Level 1 status in recognition of our commitment to inclusivity and socio-economic development.
Global impact
Many of the challenges facing the mobility industry are universal. Policy makers all over the world are under pressure to overhaul mobility and respond to the climate emergency.
How operators collect fares impacts success. It’s vital to make the experience simple, convenient and cost-effective if we want more people to use sustainable transport.
In our offices throughout the world, our experienced teams understand the broad global issues and the nuances of the local mobility landscape.
We’re here to align your approach to fare collection to your specific social, environmental, and commercial goals.
Our office locations
London Rome
Copenhagen
Besançon
Johannesburg
Las Vegas
