Several Vendors Considering Submitting Bids for Miami’s New Fare-System Back Office
A number of fare-system vendors are weighing bids on Miami-Dade Transit’s planned back office project, Mobility Payments has learned, after county transit officials issued a much-anticipated request for proposal a couple of weeks ago.
The bidders are expected to include the current supplier of the back office and other parts of the existing fare system,
Tip Sheet: Fare Project is Back in Abu Dhabi; Agency Adds Equipment to new Tender Request
Also: Swedish transport agencies disclose plans for procurements; RFP Finally Drops in Miami; three months on, Cubic still has integration work to do in Austin.
New Budget Estimates and ‘Program Reset’ in Victoria State Confirm Cost Overruns and Substantial Delays in Melbourne Project
Victoria state officials in Melbourne today released new budget figures that appear to show just how far behind schedule and over budget the state’s large fare-system project is today.
The budget papers (download page with project entry below), describe a “program reset,” with the “total estimated investment” needed to complete the project increasing by 25%
Procurement Model in Poland Asked Vendors to Front Costs for CapEx in Exchange for Ticketing Revenue; Most Vendors Said, ‘No Thanks’
Transport agency ZTM Warsaw in Poland floated the idea around 18 months ago of taking a CapEx-free approach to procuring its new fare system. It would order 12,000 validators and other capital expenditures, offering to pay vendors fees once ticket revenue was flowing in.
The question was, would vendors go along with the idea, given that they would be taking on more risk and finance costs to implement the new ticketing system, while their compensation could be delayed. The answer now appears to be in:
Changeover Underway to New Vendor for Switzerland’s Fast-Growing Mobile-Ticketing Service
Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB, is preparing for a switch of vendors for its well-known digital-ticketing service EasyRide, which is seeing growing usage for the GPS-based, pay-as-you-go ticketing offer.
The national rail operator told Mobility Payments it expects the changeover from incumbent Fairtiq to Axon Vibe to be complete by the end of the year.
Miami Transit Agency Prepares to Release Tender Request for Back Office for Its Fare-System Overhaul
Miami-Dade Transit plans to issue its much-delayed request for proposal next month for an account-based ticketing back office for its planned fare-system overhaul.
U.S.-based Cubic Transportation Systems is the incumbent vendor and is expected to try to defend its contract.
Vix Technology Agrees to Pay $2.1 Million to Settle Covid Relief Loan Fraud Case; CEO Says Penalty Won’t Affect ‘Operations or Financial Position’
Vix Technology Group recently agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a fraud case alleging Vix made false claims on its application for a low-interest Covid relief loan. Vix CEO Aaron Ross insisted to Mobility Payments that the damages will have “no impact” on the company’s “current operations or financial position.”
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed last June by a whistleblower, which stood to gain a share of the damages, alleging that Vix had violated the U.S. False Claims Act when it applied for its second government-backed Covid Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2021.
Tip Sheet: Sydney’s Transport for NSW Says Procurement of Opal Next-Gen System Still on Track; Also, Why Kurt Brissett Likely Left the Agency
Also in this article: White-Label Technology Gets Slight Boost from Dutch Project; New Zealand Rollout Delayed Again; Agency Said to be Unhappy with Cubic’s Progress. Please write to contact@mobility-payments.com with tips.
In-Depth: Projects to Watch in California for Concessionary Discounts with Open Loop; Will More Riders Tap Bank Cards to Get Their Reduced Fares?
The Sacramento Regional Transit District in California, which launched open-loop payments earlier this month, is enabling concessionary discounts with credit and debit cards for three categories of riders–and at least for now, cuts by the Trump administration have not derailed the program.
The transit agency, known as SacRT, is the largest of four agencies in the state using a platform from the U.S. federal government, Login.gov, to deliver concessionary discounts to seniors, military veterans and others with open loop. Unlike platforms used by most other agencies to enroll customers for concessions, Login.gov can enable customers to fully enroll online. That avoids trips to transit agency service centers. And Login.gov can support such non-senior customer categories as veterans.
Another U.S. agency, in Florida, plans to use the Login.gov for concessions linked to credit, debit and mobile devices, as well, Mobility Payments has learned. (See below.)
Despite Nationwide Open-Loop Rollout, Netherlands Predicts Closed-Loop Card will Remain Most-Used Payments Method
Dutch transport operators and their national ticketing agency have disclosed updated details for rolling out a new white-label closed-loop card, while adding two months to the date when they plan to finally retire the country’s 20-year-old, Mifare-based closed-loop card, Mobility Payments has learned.
The group of nine transport operators and ticketing agency Translink Systems, which is overseeing the world’s first truly nationwide rollout of open-loop payments, is also projecting that closed-loop will remain the dominant fare payments method in the country.