California Commuter Rail Agency Plans to Launch Open-Loop Payments
The Capitol Corridor commuter and intercity rail service in Northern California plans to launch an open-loop payments trial in February, likely followed by a full rollout of the technology, Mobility Payments has learned.
Central Bank in Latin American Country Drives Nationwide Rollout of Open Loop; Can It Serve as a Model Elsewhere?
In a first for Latin America and perhaps one of the only projects of its kind in the world, the Central Bank of Costa Rica is building a nationwide infrastructure for open-loop transit payments, as it seeks to ultimately eliminate cash on board its buses and trains.
French City Launches Open-Loop Fare Payments, Though France Catching Up with Other European Countries
The city of Besançon in Eastern France has launched contactless open-loop fare payments supporting Visa- and Mastercard-branded credit and debit cards, as well as cards supporting France’s Cartes Bancaires domestic debit scheme.
Helsinki Transit Agency Issues New Tender Request for Validators for Multimodal Open-Loop Payments Service
The Helsinki regional transport agency, or HSL late last week released a tender request through procurement channels seeking bids for at least 4,500 validators for its planned multimodal contactless open-loop payments rollout.
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.
More Cities in Finland Expected to Move to Open-Loop Fare Payments
A fourth city in Finland is beginning to roll out contactless open-loop payments, with “more in the pipeline,” according to one supplier on the project, making the Nordic country one of the latest hotspots for the technology.
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.
UK Bus Operator Go-Ahead Reports Cash Usage has Plummeted Because of Covid, While Contactless Transactions have Surged
The Go-Ahead Group, one of the big five privately owned public bus operators in the UK, said today it has seen cash usage on board the nearly 3,000 buses it runs in England outside of London fall to 23% of transactions, down from 53% three years ago.
California Launches Two More Pilots under Open-Loop Initiative
California transportation officials announced two more pilots for their open-loop payments initiative, Cal-ITP, bringing to four the number of six-month “demonstration” projects they have launched with small transit agencies and vendors.
State of California Seeks to Change Way Transit Agencies Procure Fare Systems
As the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, sees it, the state’s more than 300 local transit agencies offer a fragmented and inefficient mix of fare collection systems–a fact it says discourages many potential riders among the state’s nearly 40 million residents from taking public transit.