Australia’s Second-Largest State Names Winner of Contract for New Ticketing System
Australia’s second largest state has hired U.S.-based Conduent to a 15-year, AU$1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion), contract to build and operate an account-based ticketing system that will include open-loop payments, the Victoria state minister for public transport announced Monday in Melbourne.
Special Report: How Much Has Open-Loop Payments Reduced Transport for London’s Cost of Fare Collection?
Backers of open-loop payments routinely promise that transit agencies can save substantially on their fare-collection costs by rolling out open-loop payments. But the amount agencies can cut from their ticketing budgets has proved difficult to pin down.
Michigan Transit Agency Launches Open-Loop Payments
The transit agency serving the city of Grand Rapids, Mich., became the latest in a small but growing list of agencies to launch open-loop payments in the U.S.
U.S. Federal Agency Opens Procurement Program to Fare Validator Suppliers
Transit agencies in the U.S. could be able to buy fare validators through a federal government procurement program administered by the U.S. General Services Administration, as part of an initiative by the California Integrated Travel Project, or Cal-ITP.
Philadelphia Transit Agency Seeks to Overhaul ‘Troubled’ Fare System
For years, Philadelphia transit authority SEPTA was supposed to be the next big agency in North America to support open-loop payments. Now it appears that a launch of open loop might not happen until at least 2026, as part of an overhaul of a fare system that has been beset by delays and cost overruns.
Transit Operator in No. 2 Dutch City Launches Open Loop; Last Major Provider to Join Nationwide Service
RET, a bus, tram and metro operator serving the second-largest city in the Netherlands, Rotterdam, today announced it was beginning to accept open-loop payments. It’s the last major public transit company to join in the country’s nationwide open-loop service.
Dutch Transit Agencies Plan to Move Forward Linking Concessions to Open-Loop Payments
Transit agencies in the Netherlands have released more details about their plans to support concessionary fares and other popular discounts with open-loop payments, Mobility Payments has learned.
Special Report: Despite Industry Push, Few Transit Agencies Rolling Out ‘Closed-Loop EMV’ So Far
Transit agency Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, or SL, in Stockholm launched what is believed to be the industry’s first rollout of white-label EMV cards for its closed-loop customers in September 2021. To date it has issued around 1.5 million cards, which customers use frequently.
Taiwan’s EasyCard Chief: Open Loop Will Have Only ‘Marginal Impact’ on Island Nation
The head of Taiwan’s largest transit and retail stored-value card contends that open-loop payments will not make a significant impact on the island nation, given Taiwan’s strong closed-loop card programs and the expense of rolling out acceptance for credit cards and credentials.
Toronto’s Largest Transit Operator, TTC, to Launch Open-Loop Payments in Mid-2023
Riders of the largest public transit operator in Canada’s biggest city, the Toronto Transit Commission, or TTC, will finally get an open-loop payments option by mid-2023. That will include the Toronto subway, a spokeswoman for transit agency Metrolinx confirmed to Mobility Payments.