Special Report: Despite Industry Push, Few Transit Agencies Rolling Out ‘Closed-Loop EMV’ So Far

OMNY cards

Transit agency Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, or SL, in Stockholm launched what is believed to be the industry’s first rollout of white-label EMV cards for its closed-loop customers in September 2021. To date it has issued around 1.5 million cards, which customers use frequently. […]

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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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U.S. Transit Agency with Strong Closed-Loop Program Wants More Riders to Use Open Loop

TriMet tram and bus

U.S. transit agency TriMet of Portland, Ore., introduced open-loop payments at the same time it launched its contactless closed-loop Hop Fastpass card, in July 2017. But it promoted Hop much more than open loop for years, and not surprisingly, the closed-loop card makes up the vast majority of electronic transactions for the agency. […]

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Transport for London Launches Procurement of Major Fare-Collection Contract

London bus

Transport for London yesterday launched its much-anticipated call for tenders to find the next vendor to run its high-profile fare-collection system–with the so-called “Project Proteus” expected to be one of the most expensive and complex fare-system contracts now in play globally. […]

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New York’s MTA Says OMNY Rollout Falls Further Behind Schedule; Cites Poor Vendor Quality Control, Other Issues

OMNY gates

Officials with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week said the rollout of its OMNY fare-collection system has fallen further behind schedule and isn’t expected to see “substantial completion” until the fourth quarter of 2025–nearly two and a half years later than Cubic Transportation Systems, the system integrator on the project, had originally promised. […]

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Can Transit Agencies Quit Closed Loop after Rolling Out Open-Loop Payments?

Apple Pay at TfL terminal

A panel of industry experts squared off for a first-of-its-kind debate about the pros and cons of open-loop payments, tackling a range of issues–from whether transit agencies can completely eliminate their closed-loop programs in favor of open loop, to costs agencies should be ready to incur when rolling out the technology. […]

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