Transit Ticketing Today

Tencent reports 100 million transit ticketing mini-app users

100 million transit riders are paying with WeChat mini-program: Tencent — Caixin Global — “Ride Code allows subway and bus riders to pay for transit fares with QR codes directly upon boarding in various Chinese cities. At subway stations, that means showing your barcode at the turnstile. Riders do not need to visit ticket kiosks as the fare is deducted from their WeChat Pay wallet.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

Sydney extends Opal transit card benefits to contactless and mobile payments users

Savings for commuters using contactless payments — Commonwealth Bank of Australia — “Commuters using contactless payments will now also receive Opal travel benefits, including: Daily, weekly and Sunday travel caps in line with Opal caps; Weekly travel reward (half price after eight trips); The Opal transfer discount; Off-peak pricing for train travel… The trial is also extending to the Sydney bus network in a staged roll-out over the coming months.” 



Transit Ticketing Today

Israel Railways pilots open loop contactless payments

Israel Railways starts plan to pay for rides using credit cards — The Jerusalem Post — “Israel Railways has launched a two-month contactless payment pilot programme, aiming to soon enable all rail users to ‘tap and go’ with their credit card rather than purchase a ticket or use a preloaded Rav-Kav smartcard… Pilot participants will initially be charged daily based on purchasing full price one-way tickets, although Israel Railways intends to introduce season tickets and discounts for senior citizens, students and other groups in the near future.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

Beijing Subway tests face recognition ticketing

Beijing subway experimenting with facial recognition for fare payment — ECNS — “The Beijing subway system is experimenting with facial recognition for passengers to pay their fares, and the technology might be applied to the entire system once the database is accurate enough, according to a report by Beijing Youth Daily… The Beijing subway system is likely to adopt the technology once the database proves to be 100% accurate, the report said.” 



Transit Ticketing Today

Edinburgh buses add contactless payments

Tap Tap Cap! — Lothian — “From 24 July, our services will accept contactless payment with daily fare capping — a first for Scotland… Just tap your card on the reader when you board the bus and you will be charged an Adult Single fare. After three or more taps, the fare will be capped at our AdultDayTicket price.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

Miami-Dade to roll out open loop ticketing in August?

Apple Pay coming to Miami fare system in August — Appleosophy — “Miami-Dade County’s fare system for their transit is set to begin accepting Apple Pay and other forms of contactless payment systems, such as Google Pay and Samsung Pay. According to an image found on Reddit, it would appear as though the Miami-Dade County transit system is set to begin accepting Apple Pay in August 2019.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

Metrolink rolls out open loop ticketing on Manchester trams

Passengers set to benefit from new contactless payments on Metrolink — Transport for Greater Manchester — “The new system will mean customers can simply touch-in at the start of a journey and touch-out at the end using a contactless bank card or another contactless-enabled payment device, such as a phone or watch. The system will then automatically work out the total daily fare for a customer’s journeys and the price will be capped — to ensure they are paying no more than the relevant adult daily one-day travelcard price.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

Greater Anglia lets train passengers use NFC phones to top up travel cards

Dramatic increase in Smart Card use — Greater Anglia — “We’ve upgraded our Greater Anglia app so that if you have an Android phone, you can hold your Smart Card against it and it will automatically transfer the products you have bought from the website or app, onto your Smart Card… We’ve also enabled staff phones to be able to instantly check the validity of Smart Cards. So passengers can use their card with confidence, and at the same time the systems we have introduced will help to detect and prevent fraud.” 



Transit Ticketing Today

Queensland to roll out state-wide open loop ticketing for trains, buses and ferries

Train and bus ticketing via phones and plastic to be tested in regional Queensland — ABC News — “The new system allows train, bus and ferry rides to be paid for with the swipe of a credit or debit card, smartphone wallet or smartwatch… The project in Queensland comes with a A$371m (US$257m) price tag, but unlike systems interstate and overseas, it will take in regional cities including Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and the Gold Coast.” 



Transit Ticketing Today

China’s national transit card system to cover 260 cities this year

One metro card to cover 260 cities in China — ECNS — “China’s nationwide public transit card, usable on both bus and subway routes, will cover 260 cities at prefecture level and above this year, according to the Ministry of Transport. That means a passenger holding one card can take buses or subways in any of the designated cities and enjoy local preferential policies, ensuring travel convenience.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

MTA reports continued uptick in contactless card usage on New York subway

MTA: Latest Omny numbers ‘exceed even our most ambitious’ projections — Gothamist — “After sharing higher-than-forecasted numbers from Saturday (the first full day of service), the latest user numbers (which reflect numbers from Saturday through Wednesday) reveal that 38,987 people have used Omny at pilot locations… The MTA had expected weekly usage to be about 6,000-12,000 users on the subways and 800-1,500 on buses.” 


Transit Ticketing Today

MTA: 80% of Omny users paid with an NFC phone on launch weekend

More than 10,000 people tapped into MTA’s contactless payments this weekend — Crain’s New York Business — “The authority anticipated it would register between 6,000 and 12,000 tap-ins per week under the pilot for the system… About 6,100 people paid through Omny in the subway on Saturday and another 4,400 on Sunday. The MTA said about 80% of Omny payments last weekend came through phones.”