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MassTransit_February_2017

Project Update: The Next Generation of Fare Collection By Maile Bucher As transportation continues to develop by integrating new technologies, so do fare collection methods. Customizable farecards allow for riders to easily pay fares without stopping at a kiosk or counter. F ARE COLLECTION HAS ALways been a necessary aspect of any public transit system, but the ways that agencies go about collecting its fares no longer needs to be a hassle. Having riders purchase fares in stations is a thing of the Stone Age, methods like chip cards and mobile payments are a way of future. Cubic Transportation Systems was awarded a contract with Transport for London (TfL) to overhaul its Oyster card fare system. Cubic and TfL have worked together since 1998. Th ey originally introduced the Oyster smartcard together in 2003 and also developed contactless EMV payments for London’s buses, Tube and rail services in 2014. “Th e old Oyster card is what we called a closed-loop card, which means that the only devices that can read that card, and write to that card and use that card are the readers that are on the TfL equipment. What TfL added to the system 14 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | FEBRUARY 2017 CUBIC’S SMARTCARD ticketing technology allows for payment acceptance from credit/debit cards from multiple countries. was a diff erent type of contactless chip card, which we call an open payment card, which are just like the Visa or MasterCard’s that you have in your wallet today, but it has a contactless interface,” explained Rasheed Behrooznia, VP, engineering, Cubic Americas. “It means that you can use your Visa or Master- Card anywhere — that type of a card can now be used when you ride transport in London.” Behrooznia added that riders are able to use their Visa or MasterCard that bares the logo and simply tap it on the reader and the transaction appears on the rider’s bank account. “Th e customer reaction has been fantastic. Since launching contactless payments we have seen over 18 million unique cards, making over 800 million journeys. Th at includes cards and phones from around 100 countries, which is phenomenal,” said Jonathan Hill, business analyst technology and data team at TfL. “Contactless now accounts for close to 40 percent of all our Pay As You Go journeys, and the share continues to increase week on week. Th ose numbers speak for themselves, but we also get a lot of positive feedback for embracing new technology and giving customers greater convenience by off ering more ways to pay.” Hill explained that London’s Tube and rail fares vary by the distance and time that riders travel and the proximity to the city center. Hill said that this means that the cost of the ride is not known until the riders journey has been completed. Choosing the right payment system “One of the biggest things we have had to deal with is what we call ‘card clash’. When we only accepted Oyster cards, a lot of customers got used to keeping their Oyster in Photos by Cubic Transportation Systems “Since launching contactless payments we have seen over 18 million unique cards.” -JONATHAN HILL, business analyst, TfL


MassTransit_February_2017
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