Transport for London Sees Open-Loop Revenue Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Contactless open-loop payments revenue has already returned to pre-pandemic levels in London, despite ridership on the London Underground still around one-third lower than in 2019 and bus ridership down by around 20%.
Conduent to Part with Its Transportation Business Unit, Including Fare Collection
U.S.-based Conduent, a business services outsourcing company, said it would sell or spin off its transportation business unit, a major automated fare-collection system supplier globally.
Uber to Pilot Travel App in UK, Starting with Intercity Train and Bus Booking and Ticketing
Uber announced Wednesday that it would enable users of its ride-hailing app in the UK to also book and pay for tickets for intercity trains and coaches this summer, along with booking of car rentals. Plans call for adding airline and cross-channel train tickets later this year.
Exclusive: Flowbird CEO Says He’s Confident of Winning Business in California Despite Exclusion from Cal-ITP
The CEO of France-based ticketing and fare-payments provider Flowbird said the company will continue to pursue business in California for its open-loop technology despite not being selected for an open-loop contract by the state of California.
Exclusive: French Cities Make Move to Open-Loop Payments, Though Paris Holds Back
France had fallen behind such open-loop payments hotspots in Europe as the UK and Italy. But it has been catching up over the past couple of years, starting with small to medium-sized cities.
Houston Metro Approves Expensive Contract Option to Continue to Accept Cash on Board Buses
While Houston Metro, a large public bus agency in the U.S., plans to introduce open-loop payments as part of an account-based ticketing system now being built for it, the agency has no plans to phase out cash acceptance on board its more than 1,200 buses, a spokeswoman confirmed to Mobility Payments.
Insight: Whim Chief Seeks Scale with Acquisition; Says It’s Too Soon to Cast Doubt on MaaS
Sampo Hietanen, CEO of Finland-based MaaS Global, said his company’s acquisition of the Brazilian trip-planning and tracking app Quicko would help turn the app into a full-fledged mobility-as-a-service platform, while building scale for MaaS Global and its Whim technology.
Visa Quietly Lowers Interchange for Transit Agencies in California but Scope of Reductions Limited So Far
Visa has quietly introduced a new interchange category for transit agencies in California, Mobility Payments has learned. If rolled out nationally and across more card types, the changes could substantially reduce the high fees that agencies pay to accept credit and debit cards for fares.
California’s ‘Mobility Marketplace’ Officially Open for Business; Vendors Offer Range of Prices and Integration Levels
California’s “Mobility Marketplace,” which aims to sell transit agencies in the state and beyond the core components they need build open-loop fare-collection systems, is now open for business.
MaaS Expert: Mobility-as-a-Service Initiatives on Wrong Track; New ‘Framework’ Needed
Mobility as a service, at least in its present form, will not scale and has little commercial sustainability. MaaS, in fact, may never live up to its hype or see large-scale rollouts.