Another Report Surfaces of Problems for Conduent Project in Melbourne
A local report that hit over the weekend is pointing to more problems for Melbourne’s AU$1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) fare-system overhaul, with a key subcontractor reported to have walked away from the project.
There has also been a separate rumor that Australia’s Victoria state government last month agreed to an
Tip Sheet: Cubic Contract Award Back on Agenda for SEPTA Board Meeting in Philadelphia
The proposed award of a $211 million fare-system contract for Cubic Transportation Systems is back on the agenda for a board meeting of Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA scheduled for next week, where the award is expected to gain approval.
As Mobility Payments reported last month, SEPTA had abruptly pulled a similar agenda item a few days before the board’s regular December meeting, with an agency spokesman telling Mobility Payments only that “discussions about the proposal will continue between board members and SEPTA staff.”
Conduent Misses Chance to Compete for Danish Validator Contract–by a Millimeter
Denmark’s national ticketing agency, Rejsekort & Rejseplan, or RKRP, last week announced that it and the country’s major transport operators had hired Belgium-based vendor Prodata Mobility to supply around 9,000 new validators, as the agency seeks to replace its aging closed-loop card.
RKRP chose Prodata from among five other vendors, as Mobility Payments reported last week. But Mobility Payments has learned there were actually eight bidders for the eight-year contract, worth a minimum of €16.8 million (US$17.3 million) and a maximum of €32.6 million.
Dutch Transport Agencies Set New Date for Turning Off 20-year-Old Closed-Loop Card Program–in Two Years; Will They Make It?
Transport agencies in the Netherlands, the first country of any size to accept open-loop fare payments nationally, are having a more difficult time with a complementary piece of their new system–shutting down their 20-year-old closed-loop OV-chipcard.
The group of Dutch transport agencies coordinating both the open- and closed-loop rollouts recently said it expects to finish the migration of a new “OV-pas” closed-loop card by the end of 2026. That means all bus, tram, metro and ferry operators in the country would stop accepting the aging but still popular OV-chipcard (OV-chipkaart in Dutch) by Jan. 1, 2027.
Report: Conduent and State Transport Officials in Melbourne at ‘Loggerheads’ Over Contract, but State Denies Problems
Transport officials in the Australian state of Victoria continue to deny there are any problems with the implementation of a new ticketing system by U.S.-based supplier Conduent Transportation, despite new local reports of discord between the vendor and government over the project budget and timelines.
The Victoria Department of Transport and Planning in Melbourne, in a statement pushed back
Tip Sheet: Will Conduent Put Its Transit Fare-Collection Business on Sale Again?
Conduent, a major fare-system vendor, may again be shopping for a buyer for its fare-collection business, sources told Mobility Payments, though the company has not announced it is planning to sell the unit, and a spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S.-based vendor famously did an about-face in 2022, with the company putting its transportation segment out for a possible IPO or sale, only to take the segment off the market after four months.
Montreal Transport Authority to Issue New RFP after Disappointing Results from Previous Tender Request
Montreal-area transport authority, Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, or ARTM, plans to issue a new call for tenders in coming weeks for its planned account-based ticketing system after scrapping the previous tender request last month because of disappointing results, Mobility Payments has learned.
ARTM executive director for information technology, Sylvain Perras, told Mobility Payments the agency
Death of Dutch Prepaid Bank Card Deal Shows Concept is Difficult Proposition for Agencies
The recent break between Dutch transport-ticketing agency Translink Systems and Netherlands-based neobank bunq is another setback for the idea of using prepaid bank cards in place of closed-loop fare cards for agencies already offering open-loop payments.
Bunq faced a lot of restrictions in how it could profit from issuing the card, such as a ban on using
Toronto’s Metrolinx Launches Virtual Closed-Loop Presto Cards for Apple Devices
Toronto-area transit agency Metrolinx today launched its closed-loop Presto card in the Apple Wallet for use with iPhones and Apple Watches.
The move comes nearly eight months after Metrolinx enabled customers to load Presto cards into Google Wallet. Since then, around 40,000 users have tapped their Android devices to take nearly 6
Melbourne Project Believed to be Behind Schedule; Officials Keep Mum about Any Problems
State transport officials in Melbourne are not voicing any concerns publicly, but behind the scenes, they are believed to be growing increasingly impatient with the apparent slow progress their main vendor, Conduent Transportation, is making on implementing a new ticketing system for Australia’s No. 2 city, sources told Mobility Payments.
Officials announced the award of a 15-year-AU$1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) contract to Conduent in May 2023.