Tip Sheet: Fare Officials from Major Transit Agencies, Including New York and London, Believed to be Discussing How to Deal with Payments Industry
Fare payments representatives with major transit agencies in Europe, North America and Australia have been quietly meeting to discuss merchant fees and fraud around open-loop payments, Mobility Payments has learned.
Also: Australian Government Launches Contactless Trial–Believed to be Token Gesture; Cal-ITP Program has Record Quarter, Thanks to Orders from Sacramento Agency.
MTA Official Asks Payments Networks for Lower Fees to Accept Open Loop with New Transit Interchange Rate
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare official Amy Linden today called on U.S. payments networks to set a uniform transit interchange rate that reduces high fixed fees most agencies must pay to accept open-loop payments.
“(It’s) something we've always asked for, getting a transit rate,” she said, speaking at the Transport Ticketing North America conference in Chicago. “Government, higher education, lodging industry all
In-Depth: New York’s MTA Takes Away Part of OMNY Project from Cubic; Seeks Completion of Rollout by Close of 2025
New York transit authority MTA today took a key part of its high-profile OMNY fare system away from its main technology vendor, Cubic Transportation Systems, as it seeks to complete OMNY over the next 18 months.
The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority today gave final approval to a proposal to modify
Tip Sheet: Italy’s National Rail Operator Launches Open-Loop Pilot with Fare Capping
taly’s national rail operator, Trenitalia, has launched an open-loop pilot with broad fare-capping options in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, on a rail line between the cities of Verona and Venice.
The pilot, which launched last week, is believed to be the first Trenitalia line to support open-loop
Three Big Agencies Say Devices Starting to Dominate Cards for Open-Loop Payments
Figures from three of the largest transit agencies accepting open-loop payments show that NFC wallets are becoming the most common way customers tap their credit and debit cards to pay, Mobility Payments has learned.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency, Transport for New South Wales in Sydney and Transport for London are seeing
New York’s MTA Celebrates Billionth OMNY Transaction as It Seeks to Put Project Back on Track
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week marked the billionth OMNY transaction, with MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber speaking at a press conference at the subway station where the landmark tap occurred. He touted the OMNY contactless open-loop payments program as an “amazing success.”
New York Transit Agency One of First to Link Concessionary Discounts to Open-Loop Cards and Wallets
In what is believed to be the first major transit agency to roll out concessionary discounts linked to open-loop payments, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said more than a million seniors and disabled persons are now able to register to receive half-priced fares when they tap contactless credit or debit cards or NFC devices to pay for rides.
New York’s MTA Says OMNY Rollout Falls Further Behind Schedule; Cites Poor Vendor Quality Control, Other Issues
Officials with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week said the rollout of its OMNY fare-collection system has fallen further behind schedule and isn’t expected to see “substantial completion” until the fourth quarter of 2025–nearly two and a half years later than Cubic Transportation Systems, the system integrator on the project, had originally promised.
New York City Transit Agency Sees Strong Usage of Open-Loop Payments on Subway
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it is seeing nearly 40% of trips taken on its New York City Subway paid for through the agency’s OMNY service, which is used mainly for open-loop payments.
Special Report: Interest Grows in ‘White-Label EMV’ for Closed-Loop Transit Cards
As more transit agencies introduce open-loop fare payments, interest is starting to grow in use of white-label EMV cards that agencies can issue in place of proprietary closed-loop cards for riders who don’t have bank cards or don’t want to use them to pay fares.