Ohio Transit Agency Expects Significant Revenue Loss as It Builds Equity with Fare Capping
The Central Ohio Transit Authority, or COTA, officially launched its new digital-payments service Monday, including a fare-capping feature that the agency estimates will cost it $1.8 million per year in lost fare revenue, the agency confirmed to Mobility Payments.
U.S. Transit Agency Eliminates Cash Acceptance on Board Its Vehicles as Planned
In the run-up to the elimination of cash fares on board its fixed-route buses and trolleybuses today, the Greater Dayton RTA had reduced cash payments to less than 10% of all trips, while 92% of the trips were paid for with digital payments–either contactless closed-loop cards or mobile ticketing, the agency told Mobility Payments.
Special Report: Interest Grows in ‘White-Label EMV’ for Closed-Loop Transit Cards
As more transit agencies introduce open-loop fare payments, interest is starting to grow in use of white-label EMV cards that agencies can issue in place of proprietary closed-loop cards for riders who don’t have bank cards or don’t want to use them to pay fares.
Moscow Metro Launches Full Rollout of ‘Face Pay;’ Largest Biometric Payments Service of Its Kind
Touting it as the largest rollout of biometric payments in the world, Moscow Metro launched its high-profile “Face Pay” service Friday, as expected, and predicted that 10% to 15% would regularly use the service in the next two to three years.
Exclusive: NFC Wallets Grow as Share of Contactless Fare Payments and Not Only Because of Covid
Transit agencies that have rolled out open-loop contactless payments are seeing growing use of NFC wallets to pay fares, as Covid-wary passengers see convenience in tapping their phones or wearables to pay.
Paris Transit Authority Moves Closer to Rolling Out Mobile Ticketing on Range of Android Phones
Large Paris regional transit authority Île-de-France Mobilités is moving closer to supporting mobile ticketing on a range of Android phones using host-card emulation technology from Google, after the vendor trade group that manages the Calypso fare card technology the authority uses beefed up security.
Exclusive: Share of Contactless Rides Paid for with Apple Pay and other Pays Wallets in Manchester More than Doubles in Two Years
Transport for Greater Manchester in the UK is the latest transit agency seeing substantial growth of contactless open-loop fare payments from NFC mobile wallets–with the percentage of its contactless tram trips paid for with Apple Pay, Google Pay and other Pays services more than doubling over the past two years, Mobility Payments has learned.
U.S. Transit Agency Introduces Scanning of Mobile Tickets, but Overall Move to Electronic Payments Progressing Slowly
Most mid-tier transit agencies in the U.S., like the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, or SORTA, in Cincinnati, still have to deal with high usage of cash and paper tickets on board their buses and other transit vehicles, even as the continuing pandemic increases pressure on them to move to more electronic forms of fare payments.
Updated: Transit Agency Still Plans to Conduct Open-Loop Payments Trial
California transit agency Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District said it plans to launch a pilot of contactless open-loop payments in early 2022, as it seeks to increase customer convenience and reduce use of cash on board its buses, Mobility Payments has learned.
In-Depth: Contactless Transactions Soar, but Transport for London Affirms that Oyster Will Remain Payments Option
Contactless open-loop payments have surged in recent months for Transport for London, returning to their steep growth trajectory before the pandemic, and now account for 70% of all pay-as-you-go, or PAYG, trips on the London Underground and two-thirds of PAYG trips on buses. And contactless has surpassed 50% of all trips–including those made with season tickets (see new chart below).