Riding transit as easy as buying a cup of coffee?

In Calilfornia, Washington and Oregon, modern bank card payments for transit are now a reality. 

Using debit/credit cards to ride transit 

According to research from the California Integrated Travel Project, nearly 75% of Californians have access to a credit or debit card and most have a smart device as well. These percentages appear to be similar across other US states, with rates of bank card ownership closer to 83%  (Federal Reserve, Nov. 30, 2021).

The use of credit or debit cards in transit is growing as contactless and mobile payments become more popular. Since people are already accustomed to using this form of payment for every day purchases, like  buying a cup of coffee, using the same media to ride transit seems intuitive. Riders can tap their bank card on a validator, board and ride without worrying about where to buy a ticket, which ticket to buy, or if the ticket is valid for a specific journey.

Integrated Travel Project

The California Integrated Travel Project established Master Service Agreements with seven fare collection vendors to help small and medium-sized public transport companies offer their riders the ability to pay for transit using debit /credit cards. The goal is to unify all transit in California, modernize the State's fare collection systems, as well as to give agencies and riders real-time vehicle location and fare information on journey-planning using smartphone maps and apps.

INIT was selected for both its fare payment software and fare validation hardware. This means that the PROXmobile3 validator and the MOBILEvario back-office system are available to assist more than 300 small and medium-sized Californian public transport companies. Cal-ITP further objectives include expanding the contactless payment technologies and travel planning to other states including Oregon and Washington. 

What INIT offers

PROXmobile3, INIT’s fare validator supports numerous forms of e-ticketing. It is EMV-capable and awarded with the Information Technology for Public Transport (ITxPT) Label. Passengers simply tap the validator using a credit or debit card, a mobile wallet such as Google Pay or Apple Pay, or smart wearable to make faster and more convenient contactless payments when boarding.

MOBILEvario, INIT's back-office system for billing and payment management, is "Visa ready for transit" certified, which means it meets the security standards and specifications for easy, fast, and secure contactless payments (EMV) of Visa, the global market leader for digital payments. Thanks to MOBILEvario's open system architecture, it is also possible to integrate third-party vendors, thus creating the basis for a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) structure.

As the open payments movement grows, agencies can be secure in knowing that INIT can provide the support and technologies needed to make the move to contactless, tap and go payments. 

How to make the move?

Take advantage of the open payments offer by visiting the CAL-ITP Mobility Marketplace website at camobilitymarketplace.org or contacting INIT at sales_prefix@initusa._suffixcom. 

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