OMMT: Open Multi-Modal Toolkit

The future of travel is seamless, and the rail industry stands at the forefront of the transformation. The key to unlocking this potential is the UIC Open Multi-Modal Toolkit (OMMT), a new framework set to transform the passenger experience of door-to-door mobility.

The OMMT Advantage

OMMT is an open framework designed to facilitate cooperation among diverse transportation modes and service providers, enabling them to deliver a fluid, end-to-end mobility experience for customers. This model is particularly beneficial for Public Transport Operators and providers across the spectrum, including Rail, Bus, Ferry, Vehicle Sharing, Parking, and Ride-hailing services.

By adopting OMMT, Service Providers can avoid costly and bespoke system integrations, embracing instead standardised, internationally recognised, secure, and tested specifications. This approach not only accelerates time-to-market but also reduces implementation costs and safeguards investments.

OMMT's adaptable and flexible nature supports various business models and enhances the user experience by offering multiple travel options like advanced booking, digital ticketing, and pay-as-you-go services.

Empowering Cross-Border Travel

OMMT is an enabler of domestic as well as international multimodal mobility. It facilitates international collaborations, thus positioning the rail industry as a key catalyst and facilitator in an integrated offering of door-to-door cross-border transportation services.

An Open Approach to Standards

OMMT can work in conjunction with key mobility standards such as Transmodel, OJP, NetEx, SIRI, GTFS, and GBFS, focusing on dynamic digital interactions that underpin dynamic offers, resource reservation, secure validation and control, account-based travel, and fair revenue sharing among providers. OMMT is not a standard; it is composed of UIC IRS specifications, several of which are incorporated into the ERA TAP TSI Technical Documents.

The Roadmap to Integration

OMMT presents a versatile solution that moves beyond the limitations of traditional integrated multimodal offerings, reducing dependency on legacy equipment and opening new opportunities for flexibility and innovation.

OMMT encapsulates five main models to enable an integrated passenger experience:

• One Ticket: A single ticket for travel across different providers and modes.
• One Purchase: Separate tickets bought in one transaction for various modes.
• One Media: A shared media standard, such as a barcode, across different providers.
• One Hub: Physical or digital hubs facilitating mode exchanges.
• One Account: Account-based charging for mobility services without pre-purchasing tickets.

A Solid Technology Foundation

OMMT comprises five distinct components, each designed to facilitate seamless collaboration among service providers for an integrated mobility experience:

• OMMT.Plan: MERITS is a UIC-owned database integrating European railway timetables from hundreds of railway undertakings, updated four times weekly and used by railway companies via EDIFACT format. TSGA is offering an OSDM API to retrieve multimodal Location Codes (UIC, IATA, URN, GPS,...).

• OMMT.Book: This feature streamlines the process of creating and managing offers and orders that span across various service providers, using Open Sales and Distribution Model.

• OMMT.Move: It grants customers a secure, digital representation of their travel rights (Flexible Content Barcode), enabling them to utilise various mobility services while allowing providers to confirm and inspect service entitlements. It provides a ticket layout (Universal Rail Ticket) to display all necessary information to the Passenger for a seamless multimodal journey. Finally, it provides an easy and secure way to exchange cryptographic Public Keys among all actors.

• OMMT.Sync: This component ensures the real-time exchange of updated information regarding order status and customer journey details among service providers. It relies on two real-time IT solutions, e-Ticket Control Database (eTCD) and Real Time Mobility Data Exchange (RTMDE).

• OMMT.Share: It enables the fair distribution of revenues among service providers, with adjustments based on the actual service usage.

Far from being a monolith, OMMT is a fully modular model, which makes possible the adoption of individual components or of the full model. Moreover, OMMT is grounded on proven UIC specifications and solutions that have already been adopted internationally by mobility providers.

Next Steps in Integrated Mobility

OMMT is an invitation to mobility authorities and industry stakeholders to embrace a future where mobility is not just a service but an experience: integrated, efficient, sustainable, and customer-centric.

For more information, download the Essential Guide to OMMT and the Overview Guide to OMMT and/or contact sarfatti at uic.org