State of California Seeks to Change Way Transit Agencies Procure Fare Systems

Card at terminal-Monetery-Salinas Transit

As the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, sees it, the state’s more than 300 local transit agencies offer a fragmented and inefficient mix of fare collection systems–a fact it says discourages many potential riders among the state’s nearly 40 million residents from taking public transit. […]

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More Transit Agencies Seek to Eliminate Cash Using Retail Cash Points, Fintechs

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, elimination of cash has taken on greater urgency for transit agencies. Fare-collection system suppliers say they are seeing strong demand for cashless options, including linking their mobile ticketing and contactless closed-loop card products to retail networks where customers can use cash. […]

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Open-Loop Payments Trial at Small California Transit Agency Could Lead to More Rollouts in Giant State

California public bus agency Monterey-Salinas Transit last month officially launched a six-month “demonstration” project to pilot contactless open-loop payments. While the agency is very small, providing only around 3,500 rides per day last year, the launch holds much greater significance. […]

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Los Angeles Transit Authority Follows Through with Plans to Enable TAP Card for Apple Pay; Google Pay to Follow

Another major U.S. transit agency has introduced a virtual closed-loop card for Apple Pay this week, with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro, It comes a couple of days after the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, announced it had put its SmarTrip closed-loop card on Apple’s NFC-enabled devices, as well. […]

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Groundbreaking System to Check Eligibility for Fare Discounts Doesn’t Support NFC Wallets; Agency Head Promises Fix

Visa card being tapped on MST terminal.

California bus agency Monterey-Salinas Transit recently launched what is believed to be the first system of its kind globally that enables customers to verify their eligibility for fare discounts online, then instantly link that eligibility to a standard contactless open-loop credit or debit card. […]

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Think Tank: Widespread Move to Open-Loop Payments in U.S. Remains ‘Elusive;’ High Interchange Partly to Blame

Bus validator

Open-loop payments can improve the customer experience, helping transit agencies to win back customers in a post-pandemic world, while also reducing cash-handling costs and speeding up boarding times, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution, a major think tank in the U.S. […]

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