Canada’s BC Transit Plans to Launch Open-Loop Payments, as Cubic Seeks to Keep Pace in SaaS-Ticketing Market
Canadian transit authority BC Transit has announced that in “coming months” it will prepare to launch open-loop payments, as its vendor, Cubic Transportation Systems, upgrades and tests its software-as-a-service fare platform Umo to make the technology available.
Cubic has enabled open loop for years for large transit agencies via its enterprise business, featuring its Urban Mobility Back Office. But it has struggled to add open-loop capability to its SaaS-based Umo platform–as it seeks to keep pace with rival Masabi in the SaaS-ticketing market
Seoul to Support Open-Loop Payments by Next Year on Buses, 2027 on Metro
Seoul Metropolitan Government has reportedly said it will enable open-loop payments on city buses next year and on the subway lines it runs by 2027, with the goal for buses and trains throughout the metro area from a variety of other operators to accept credit and debit cards and open-loop credentials in mobile wallets by 2030.
It would mean that South Korea, which has been one of the last major holdouts
Review of New Zealand National Fare Project Predicts More ‘Significant Delays’ and Likely Cost Overruns; Government in ‘Commercial’ Talks with Cubic, Others
An independent review of New Zealand’s national fare-system project concluded there is a “very high likelihood of further significant delays” to the project and expressed doubts that vendors and other parties would be able to deliver the full project “within the committed contract value.”
When asked whether national transport officials are pursuing any claims against Cubic Transportation Systems for delays in the National Ticketing Solution project, a spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency told Mobility Payments today that officials were
Queensland Cites Cubic Delays, 50-Cent Fares, as Reasons for Changing Smart Ticketing Contract
he Queensland government in Australia confirmed that it pulled regional bus operators out of its Smart Ticketing project–at least in part– because of delays in the fare-system rollout by Cubic Transportation Systems, according to the text of a document seen by Mobility Payments.
The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads had told Mobility Payments earlier this month that it had “reallocated funding” for regional bus operators to “choose their own ticketing solution”– a move that appears to reduce the size of Cubic’s contract with the government. But the agency didn’t specify at the time exactly why it was making the move.
Queensland Government Pulls Regional Bus Operators out of ‘Smart Ticketing’ Fare Project–a Loss for Cubic
The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads in Australia has confirmed to Mobility Payments it has “reallocated funding” for regional bus operators to “choose their own ticketing solution”– a move that appears to reduce the size of Cubic Transportation Systems’ contract with the government.
The Smart Ticketing project has been beset by delays, as well as reported budget overruns. Cubic won an AU$371 million (US$245.2 million) contract to provide a new fare system, including open-loop payments and account-based ticketing, in Australia’s third-largest state, Queensland, in 2018.
Atlanta Transit Agency Wants to Introduce Open-Loop Payments in Time for World Cup Next Year; will Vendor INIT be Ready?
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA, said it plans to launch open-loop payments in time for the FIFA World Cup matches the city will host next year–though some have their doubts the agency will hit that target.
The now $300 million-plus project will introduce open-loop payments and a revamped version of the agency’s closed-loop Breeze card as part of an account-based ticketing system for Atlanta’s four-line subway, 500-plus fixed-route buses and light-rail streetcar. The work includes replacing 400 fare gates and other equipment.
Las Vegas Transit Agency Thought Tourists would Use Open-Loop Payments More than Residents; It was Wrong
When RTC of Southern Nevada, which serves Las Vegas and the surrounding region, launched open-loop payments in December 2023, agency officials thought most users would come from among the ranks of the mass of tourists that descend on the gambling and entertainment mecca every year.
But since enabling users to tap to pay with credit and debit cards and mobile wallets, the agency is seeing the opposite. Most users–around 80%–are residents, while tourists and other visitors make up the rest.
Major San Francisco Transit Operator BART to Launch Open-Loop Payments Tomorrow following Delays
San Francisco public transit officials promise the long-awaited launch of open-loop payments–confined for now to one transit operator, metro-rail provider BART–will happen tomorrow after substantial delays. The project is part of a $400 million-plus next-generation Clipper project that will soon enter its seventh year.
An announcement today by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission planning agency, MTC, promised that nearly two dozen other Bay Area transit agencies that take the closed-loop Clipper card will also accept credit and debit cards soon. MTC added that “once the next generation of Clipper is rolled out Bay Area-wide, ‘Tap and Ride’ will include all discounted fares and transfers between transit services.”
Masabi wasn’t Low Bidder for Montreal Fare-System Contract; Vendor was Likely Helped by Special Pricing Clause in RFP
UK-based Masabi won the recently announced contract to provide a new fare system for Montreal-area transit authority ARTM with what is believed to be a substantially higher total bid than at least part of the competition, Mobility Payments has learned.
ARTM has not released the price bids for the up to the 14-year, CA$183 million (US$133.7 million) contract, counting extensions. But a spokeswoman for the authority confirmed to Mobility Payments that
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).