Netherlands Sees Some Growth in Open-Loop Adoption; Reiterates End Date for Aging Closed-Loop Card
Dutch public transport riders tapped with their debit cards for a growing number of transactions this spring, and ticketing officials kept the March 2027 stop date to finally retire the country’s 20-year-old closed-loop OV-chip card, Mobility Payments has learned.
Open-loop payments, while failing to increase in May of this year, did substantially grow from March through April, as well as overall for the three-month period ending in May (see chart and table on this page).
Paris Transport Authority Still Insists Costs Too High to Support Open Loop, but Resistance Appears to be Falling
Claude Camilli, a longtime ticketing official with Paris transport authority, Île-de-France Mobilités, when asked last week why the authority doesn’t support open-loop payments, responded that costs are too high. He added that the authority had decided a better option for customers was for IDFM to expand use of closed-loop payments with smartphones, he told Mobility Payments.
It’s a common refrain by transport-ticketing officials in Paris, which remains one of the few European capitals that has declined to launch open loop as a payments option.
Masabi Wins Montreal Contract, Beating Out Cubic, Likely Conduent
UK-based Masabi has won a contract reported to be worth at least CA$125 million (US$91.1 million) from Montreal-area transport authority ARTM, beating out Cubic Transportation Systems, likely incumbent Conduent Transportation and four other suppliers.
It's one of the largest and most complex projects for UK-based software-as-as-service ticketing provider Masabi, which enables mobile ticketing for mostly small and some medium-sized North America transit agencies–not the size of ARTM.
Barcelona Transport Agency Sets Date for Launch of Open-Loop Payments–Two Years Late
The Autoritat del Transport Metropolità in Barcelona, known as ATM, confirmed to Mobility Payments plans to finally launch open-loop payments, in January 2026–which, if the authority hits that date, would be a little more than two years behind the original ambitious project schedule.
But while the hardware is in place, ATM appears to still be procuring a vendor to handle
New Zealand Taps CTO of Country’s Largest Transport Agency to Try to Get National Ticketing Project Back on Track
The New Zealand government has named the chief technology officer of the country’s largest transport agency, Auckland Transport, to head up its National Ticketing Solution, hoping to get the troubled project back on track, Mobility Payments has learned.
The new pick,
New Zealand Government Believed to be Replacing Head of National Ticketing Program Amid Concerns Over Project Delays
The New Zealand government is believed to have replaced the program chief of its planned nationwide ticketing system as concerns escalate among the country’s transport officials over delays in the 15-year, NZ$1.39 billion (US$840.4 million) project, Mobility Payments has learned.
The believed dismissal of the program director and appointment of a new chief comes amid reports that a governance group that includes national and local officials has launched an independent review into what has gone wrong with the rollout.
Transport for London Expected to Reveal Winner of Major Revenue-Collection Contract within Weeks
Transport for London is expected to soon announce its long-awaited award of a major fare-system contract–choosing between two vendors, including incumbent Cubic Transportation Systems–Mobility Payments has learned.
The contact for the so-called Project Proteus could be worth up to
‘What went Wrong?’: Why Most Vendors were No-Shows When It Came Time to Bid on Warsaw’s Fare Project
Warsaw public transport authority ZTM has yet to award a contract to the lone vendor that bid on its tender request, in what industry suppliers and market observers have said is a flawed procurement model.
A ZTM spokesman told Mobility Payments it is still “analyzing” the sole offer to build and operate its planned fare system that asks the winning vendor to front the costs for more than 10,000 new validators, develop a back office and pay for other capital expenditures.
New Zealand’s National Ticketing Project Delayed Further; Could be Headed for Major Reset
The New Zealand Transport Agency again pushed back the launch of its planned nationwide ticketing system, and some industry observers believe that the government will soon agree to a major reset of the project timelines and deliverables, if it hasn’t already.
The national agency last week announced that the project would not even be able to launch in the first small city and town in the Canterbury region, on New Zealand’s South Island, which was to be the first of four “regions” to get the so-called “National Ticketing Solution.”
In-Depth: Washington, D.C., Launches Open-Loop Payments on Subway with Overlay Technology; but Transit Agency Incurs Extra Costs
The Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority launched open-loop payments Wednesday for full fares on its subway system, following a fast-track, five to six-month implementation that met its target of launching on the subway in time for most WorldPride 2025 events being held in the U.S. capital.
The project is noteworthy because it uses an “open-payment overlay” to enable WMATA’s closed-loop terminals to accept credit and debit cards, including in mobile devices. The concept can offer a quick time to market and potentially cut costs, though is not an option for every agency and comes with some drawbacks. And in WMATA’s case, the agency is spending millions more by paying other vendors to help set up the new system, in addition to its main overlay vendor, Littlepay, Mobility Payments has learned (see below).