Mobile ticketing, the process of buying fare on a mobile phone app, has rapidly gained popularly in the last couple of years. It can reduce the need for infrastructure, because riders already have the payment equipment in their smartphones, cut cost and the time riders spend waiting in line, as well as risk, and gather valuable rider data. Recently, Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Portland, Ore.-based TriMet, North County (Calif.) Transit District and Dallas Area Rapid Transit all rolled out ticketing apps.
While more transit systems are adopting mobile ticketing, at least a dozen or more agencies in the U.S. have implemented or are in the process of incrementally rolling out a combination of mobile payment and advanced fare payment smart card technologies, but are at different stages. (full article)