- Project for region-wide electronic ticketing and fare management system in Tampa, Florida
- Phased introduction starts now with Kickoff Meeting and will continue through 2018
Karlsruhe/Chesapeake, 10 March 2016.
INIT Innovations in Transportation, Inc., the US-based 100 percent subsidiary of init innovation in traffic systems AG (ISIN DE 0005759807) has won a new major contract. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), the lead procuring agency of the local Regional Working Group (RWG) in Tampa, Florida, has awarded INIT Inc. the contract for a region-wide electronic ticketing and fare management system. The RWG consists of eight county transit agencies from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Citrus, Hernando, Manatee, Pasco, Polk, and Sarasota. Additional project partners include the TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority) and the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation). The project starts immediately with a Kickoff Meeting and will continue through 2018 - the US dollar value of the contract is more than USD 10 Mio.
The contract between INIT and the RWG will involve the deployment of an integrated fare system using account-based smart cards and mobile ticketing. INIT’s passenger terminals, PROXmobile3, will be installed on more than 600 buses for the validation of the new fare media.
INIT will also supply a back-end clearing and processing system (MOBILEvario) to facilitate the management of the RWG’s individual customer accounts, setting of fare rules, revenue processing and statistical evaluation reporting. MOBLEvario will benefit the RWG by allowing them to provide a seamless fare structure across eight counties while ensuring the secure administration of each agency’s data.
Also included in the project are Interactive voice response (IVR) applications and new enhanced web portals to allow customers to check their balances, register their cards and load values, as well as manage mobile payment applications using their smartphones.
In early March 2016, the RWG meets with INIT Innovations in Transportation Inc., to officially kickoff the final phase of the innovative project. Within 6 to 8 months of the project kicking off riders will be able to use the mobile app across the Tampa Bay area by showing their purchased fare via the phone to the driver.
Once completed, this regional fare system will be a major shift on how the RWG provides fare options for their riders. The RWG’s partnership with INIT will allow them to provide passengers with a more convenient payment experience and attract new riders who will be able to travel across a wider service area covering approximately 4,100 square miles. The new system will provide seamless and common fare media for passengers throughout the Tampa Bay region and will replace the outdated and less efficient fare collection systems in the area - including the system used by HART for more than 25 years.
“The Regional Working Group is excited to bring this innovative system to our riders,“ said Jeff Seward, HART CFO. “It will move our region into the future of transit fare collection and allow our riders an unparalleled, flexible rider experience. The project will provide great value to our region, improve on time performance, and reduce costs.”
