California begins state-wide rollout of fare capped open loop contactless ticketing

Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) tap to ride illustration for fare capped open loop contactless ticketing system
CAPPED FARES: MST bus passengers can now tap and ride using their bank card or mobile phone

Passengers using Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) buses are the first in the state of California, USA, to be able to pay their fares with their bank card or payment-enabled mobile device using a fare-capped open loop contactless ticketing system.

The transit company will be trialling the system for six months as “the first of many being facilitated” across the state by the California Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP).

“Adding a contactless payment reader to a bus or train means customers can quickly and easily tap to pay as they board with the bank card or smartphone that’s already in their pocket — just like they’d tap to buy a coffee,” Cal-ITP says.

“Starting with Monterey-Salinas Transit, Cal-ITP and partners like Visa will soon demonstrate how a transit provider that has traditionally used cash and agency specific fare cards can accept contactless bank card payments like any other merchant.

“This system can scale to create fare payment consistency across the hundreds of transit providers throughout California.”

“Contactless payment readers have been installed at the front of each MST fixed route bus,” MST adds.

“Riders can simply tap — with a contactless card or device — on the reader when boarding the bus and again upon exit at their destination and be charged only for the distance they travelled.

“MST will also be implementing fare capping, which ensures that a rider will not be charged more than US$10 per day, no matter how many times they ride in a day — as long as they pay with the same contactless card or mobile wallet throughout the day.

“For riders who travel on MST more frequently, there are now seven-day and 31-day fare caps as well, when paying with the same contactless card or mobile wallet.”

A short video explains how the system works.

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