Cubic Planning Open-Loop Payments Product as Part of New Business Unit
Cubic Transportation Systems’ new business unit, Mobility Essentials, which will oversee the vendor’s software-as-a-service ticketing platform, Umo, will also offer an open-loop payments product that has yet to launch, Mobility Payments has learned.
The vendor has put the new business unit within what it now calls its “Cubic Transportation Ventures”
In-Depth: Cubic’s Hardware-Free Option for Mobile Ticketing; Will It Find a Market?
Cubic Transportation Systems has introduced an option for riders to scan printed QR codes with the vendor’s Umo mobile-ticketing app, targeting its main North American market.
The option, first trialed by Cubic in taxis last year in Chile, is aimed at small transit agencies and paratransit operators. Its “ScanRide” product would allow the agencies to avoid
Tip Sheet: Washington, D.C., Short Lists Vendors for Open-Loop Payments Project
The Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, one of the largest subway operators in the U.S., has narrowed its procurement for an open-loop payments project to a short list containing as few as two vendors, Mobility Payments has learned.
The agency would not release the names of the short-listed vendors, but Mobility Payments has learned they include
U.S. Agency CapMetro Calls ‘Emergency Procurement’ that Hired Cubic to Replace Incumbent Vendor Bytemark a ‘Pressing Urgency’
U.S. transit agency Capital Metro has issued its first public statement since conducting what it termed an “emergency procurement” to replace its current fare vendor, Siemens-owned Bytemark, with Cubic Transportation Systems, telling Mobility Payments it was a case “where public urgency precludes competition-related delays.”
Calling the situation an emergency allowed CapMetro to bypass rules requiring what federal regulations call a “full and open competition.” The agency, however, has yet to release documents publicly or answer questions to justify sidestepping those rules.
In its statement last week, CapMetro said that “Cubic was selected as the vendor during this emergency
China Begins to Accept Visa and Mastercard for Open Loop, though Transactions are Expected to be Small
Seeking to promote more commerce from foreigners to help boost its sluggish economy, China, among other things, has opened up the market to foreign-branded bank cards for use with open-loop payments.
That move began Friday on the giant subway, in Beijing, which became the first city in China (outside of Hong Kong)
Unreachable Goal? Denmark Seeks Adoption Rate of 90% for Its National Mobile-Ticketing Services
It’s difficult for an agency retire a long-established closed-loop card, even one with an aging technology and which is expensive to maintain.
But that is precisely what transport officials in Denmark propose to do. And not with open-loop payments or other cards, but with what it hopes will be a wildly popular mobile-ticketing app.
Tip Sheet: Cubic Faces Major Test in Holding onto Sydney Fare Project; Rumors Say It May Partner with Another Major Vendor
With tenders due next month for Sydney’s much-anticipated Opal Next-Generation fare project, attention has turned to the fate of incumbent vendor Cubic Transportation Systems.
Cubic is not believed to be held in the highest regard by Transport for New South Wales, which is not an agency known for its loyalty to vendors. Sydney also is seen as wanting to take more control of its fare system, like Transport for London.
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
Open-Loop Payments: Are U.S. Transit Agencies Ready for the Costs?: A Discussion
A top official with Helsinki transport agency HSL made headlines over this past weekend, Aug. 31, when he was quoted as actually discouraging customers from using contactless open-loop payments when the agency launches the long-delayed service.
That’s according to Helsingin Sanomat, the main newspaper in the Finnish capital, which reported that the agency’s deputy CEO is instead steering riders toward HSL’s own mobile app because of higher costs for accepting debit and credit cards.