California Replaces System That Helped Link Concessionary Fares to Open-Loop Cards Following Review by State Agencies
California transit officials have relaunched their senior discount verification program after shutting it down for six months, during which multiple state agencies conducted a security review, Mobility Payments has learned. According to one agency, scalability of the original system was a problem.
Transit Agency Group Gets Low Price in California Open-Loop Procurement
In one of the first procurements of open-loop technology past the pilot stage for the pioneering California Integrated Travel Project, a group of rural transit agencies in Northern California received a low price for its planned open-loop payments rollout, Mobility Payments has learned.
Exclusive: Group of Small Transit Agencies Confirms Plans to Roll Out Open-Loop Payments Under California Program
A group of rural transit agencies in far Northern California are in the process of signing contracts with vendors to roll out open-loop payments under the state-backed Cal-ITP program, perhaps the first agencies to confirm they are contracting with vendors beyond the pilot stage, Mobility Payments has learned.
Transit Agency: High Bank Card Fees Would Limit Open-Loop Rollouts in U.S.
A top revenue manager for Sacramento Regional Transit, the agency serving California’s capital city, said he believes there won’t be widespread rollouts of open-loop payments in California or throughout the U.S. until payments networks and banks reduce fees for agencies to accept debit and credit cards.
Visa Quietly Lowers Interchange for Transit Agencies in California but Scope of Reductions Limited So Far
Visa has quietly introduced a new interchange category for transit agencies in California, Mobility Payments has learned. If rolled out nationally and across more card types, the changes could substantially reduce the high fees that agencies pay to accept credit and debit cards for fares.
California’s ‘Mobility Marketplace’ Officially Open for Business; Vendors Offer Range of Prices and Integration Levels
California’s “Mobility Marketplace,” which aims to sell transit agencies in the state and beyond the core components they need build open-loop fare-collection systems, is now open for business.
California Open-Loop Program Chief: Transit Agencies Should Stop Thinking They Need to Create a ‘Separate Currency’
Gillian Gillett, manager for the California Integrated Mobility program in the state Department of Transportation, once observed that 97% of Californians never even think about using public transit. “I mean, if we were a business, we would be out of business,” she sighed.
Exclusive: Los Angeles City Transit Agency Plans Open-Loop Payments Pilot; To Target Underbanked and Unbanked
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, or LADOT, the city-owned transit agency that runs fixed-route and commuter bus service in and around the city, plans to launch a trial of open-loop payments as part of the California Integrated Travel Project, Mobility Payments has learned.
Multiple Vendors Disqualified in Bidding to Supply Open-Loop Technology for California’s ‘Mobility Marketplace’
A number of well-known industry vendors that bid on two much-anticipated contracts from the state of California to the supply open-loop payments technology to transit agencies statewide were disqualified last month, mostly for failing to meet strict administrative requirements, documents reveal.
Groundbreaking System to Check Eligibility for Fare Discounts Doesn’t Support NFC Wallets; Agency Head Promises Fix
California bus agency Monterey-Salinas Transit recently launched what is believed to be the first system of its kind globally that enables customers to verify their eligibility for fare discounts online, then instantly link that eligibility to a standard contactless open-loop credit or debit card.