Trip-Planning Transit App Expands to Another Software-as-a-Service Ticketing Provider
The trip-planning app provider Transit has added another mobile-ticketing and payments provider as it continues to seek to enable users to plan, book and pay for rides from its app. It already works with at least three other software-as-a-service mobile-ticketing providers.
Paris Transit Authority Moves Closer to Rolling Out Mobile Ticketing on Range of Android Phones
Large Paris regional transit authority Île-de-France Mobilités is moving closer to supporting mobile ticketing on a range of Android phones using host-card emulation technology from Google, after the vendor trade group that manages the Calypso fare card technology the authority uses beefed up security.
Exclusive: Share of Contactless Rides Paid for with Apple Pay and other Pays Wallets in Manchester More than Doubles in Two Years
Transport for Greater Manchester in the UK is the latest transit agency seeing substantial growth of contactless open-loop fare payments from NFC mobile wallets–with the percentage of its contactless tram trips paid for with Apple Pay, Google Pay and other Pays services more than doubling over the past two years, Mobility Payments has learned.
Building Flexibility into Fare-Collection Systems
Contactless EMV payments are being recognized the world over as an essential way to modernize fare collection, improve rider experience and encourage more widespread public transport use. While transit agencies and operators are acutely aware of the urgency to get to “destination contactless,” their route from A to B is not clear.
U.S. Transit Agency Introduces Scanning of Mobile Tickets, but Overall Move to Electronic Payments Progressing Slowly
Most mid-tier transit agencies in the U.S., like the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, or SORTA, in Cincinnati, still have to deal with high usage of cash and paper tickets on board their buses and other transit vehicles, even as the continuing pandemic increases pressure on them to move to more electronic forms of fare payments.
Updated: Transit Agency Still Plans to Conduct Open-Loop Payments Trial
California transit agency Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District said it plans to launch a pilot of contactless open-loop payments in early 2022, as it seeks to increase customer convenience and reduce use of cash on board its buses, Mobility Payments has learned.
In-Depth: Contactless Transactions Soar, but Transport for London Affirms that Oyster Will Remain Payments Option
Contactless open-loop payments have surged in recent months for Transport for London, returning to their steep growth trajectory before the pandemic, and now account for 70% of all pay-as-you-go, or PAYG, trips on the London Underground and two-thirds of PAYG trips on buses. And contactless has surpassed 50% of all trips–including those made with season tickets (see new chart below).
Transport for London to Offer Weekly Fare Capping with Oyster Cards; Move Expected to Drive Even More Riders to Pay as You Go
In a move expected to make Transport for London’s pay-as-you-go model even more dominant and further erode support for season tickets and other period travel passes, the agency today said it will introduce weekly fare capping for PAYG transactions with its closed-loop Oyster card on rail and Underground trips starting Monday– years after it began supporting the feature for open-loop contactless payments.
Sydney Transit Official: Opal Card Not Going Away, Despite Growth of Contactless
Sydney-based Transport for New South Wales, Australia’s largest transit agency, has no plans to phase out or de-emphasize its closed-loop Opal card, despite strong adoption of contactless open-loop payments by customers, especially with mobile wallets, according to Kurt Brissett, executive director for connected journeys for the agency.
Dallas Latest City in U.S. to Accept Open-Loop Fare Payments
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART, has become the latest transit agency in the U.S. to accept contactless open-loop payments, joining just four other U.S. agencies that support the technology, not counting small open-loop pilots happening in California.