Two Years On, California’s Open-Loop ‘Mobility Marketplace’ has Failed to Take Off, though Deal May be Coming
The California Integrated Travel Project, or Cal-ITP, did not add any new transit agencies for the third quarter in a row, as of end of 2023, and open-loop transactions remained low two years after the program began, records obtained by Mobility Payments show.
That could change during the first or second quarters of 2024, with a significant new project likely
Genfare Wins Tender in Miami to Replace Fare Boxes, Ticket-Vending Machines and Transit Gates
U.S.-based Genfare appears set to receive an approximately $65 million contract from Miami-Dade County, Fla., after beating out three other vendors to supply new fare boxes, ticket-vending machines and transit gates for the county's fare-collection system, Mobility Payments has learned.
Genfare, the incumbent supplier of fare boxes for Miami-Dade Transit’s 850 buses, outscored
Mikroelektronika Set to Unseat Incumbent Vix with Low Bid in Sweden’s No. 2 City; Can Vendor Deliver for Price?
Czech Republic-based fare-system provider Mikroelektronika submitted the low bid to win the procurement of a new fare system in Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, besting a field of bidders that included nearly 20-year incumbent supplier Vix Technology, Mobility Payments has learned.
It’s perhaps an unexpected win for Mikroelektronika, whose featured fare projects to date are mainly in
TIP SHEET: Vix and Kuba Ready to Merge? Also: Czech Vendor Wins in Sweden; Overhaul in Miami; Singapore ABT Update; Masabi Contract Expected
For several industry observers, the naming earlier this month of Kuba CEO Aaron Ross to also lead Vix Technology–replacing former Vix chief David Maitland–looks at lot like the start of an unannounced Vix-Kuba merger.
Vix and Kuba are already sister companies under private equity owner ICM Mobility.
Top Five U.S. Agency Issues RFP to Add Open Loop to Existing Terminals; Incumbent Cubic Likely in Driver’s Seat
The Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA–a top five transit agency in the U.S.–has moved a step closer toward introducing open-loop payments, issuing a recent request for proposal for the technology, Mobility Payments has learned.
The RFP, titled, “Fare Open-Payment Overlay” (download below) seeks to add open-loop functionality to
Fee Waiver Helps Virtual Clipper Card Soar in San Francisco, though Growth Comes with Added Costs
San Francisco Bay Area transit operators have seen strong growth in the number of virtual closed-loop Clipper cards issued and the share of active users tapping these cards with Apple Pay and Google Wallet over the past 18 months or so, Mobility Payments has learned.
Many credit the decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, or MTC, to waive the $3 sign-up fee
In-Depth: Denmark’s Quest to Replace Its Closed-Loop Card with Mobile Ticketing–It Won’t be Easy
Among the most anticipated fare projects globally is a nationwide mobile-ticketing service planned by Danish government officials, who hope to greatly reduce or even eliminate use of the country’s much-used physical closed-loop card, Rejsekort.
The ticketing system in Denmark is complex and the national ticketing card has been in place for more than
TIP SHEET: Dubai Selects Vendors; Denmark Still Dealing with Cubic Appeal; High Prepaid Card Fees Expected in Netherlands
Incumbent vendors are believed to have won the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority’s AED 350 million (US$95.3 million) contract to upgrade its card-based nol system into an account-based ticketing
‘Hardware-as-a-Service’? Another Transit Agency Proposes Unconventional Model to Procure New Fare System
Another transit agency has opted for an unconventional approach to procuring its new fare system, planning to hire a vendor to run the entire system-including furnishing thousands of validators–in exchange for a fixed service fee and a commission on monthly ticketing revenue.
Polish transit agency ZTM is following another agency in this approach, AVM in Venice, Italy, which a
Debacle in Singapore and What It Means for Account-Based Ticketing in the Market
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority for several years was an enthusiastic supporter of account-based ticketing and of its own implementation of the technology–even sometimes referring to its project by the industry abbreviation for the technology, “ABT,” in promotions to the public.
But that enthusiasm changed Jan. 9, after transport officials had announced to customers that they would have to give up their legacy closed-loop cards in favor of new ABT fare cards.