S P E C I A L R E P O R T
ITH MOST RIDERS HAVING A
smartphone in hand, going to mobile
payment off ers ease to the consumer
and lower costs to the agency. Only 14
percent of respondents didn’t have any plans
for mobile ticketing in the near future.
Th e Best Practices feature (pg. 27) in
this issue addresses things you need to
consider if you’re implementing mobile
payment and Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Offi cer David Leininger said the fi rst
thing you need to answer is: Why?
Other questions he says to consider:
• Does a public transit agency really need
to off er a mobile ticketing and payment
option? Of course it does.
• Is there a logical limit to the size of the
agency that would benefi t from a mobile
ticketing and payment off ering? No, not
really.
• Is it a cost-eff ective, aff ordable option,
even for a small agency? Yes, unless you
cut a poor deal with the vendor.
• Can I develop the capability in-house?
Yes, but it will never be as feature-rich
as third-party solutions and most likely
will not be able to keep up with the new
version releases of the mobile phone operating
systems.
• Can the agency begin with a pilot and
then launch a full deployment later? Yes,
but the agency risks going through two
procurement exercises versus one. Further,
it cannot assure the vendor participating
in the pilot will be the successful
bidder in the full deployment.
• Should the agency limit the products
available for purchase to special events
and periods of time versus putting the
full range of product types on the app?
No. While a limited array of products
can be the approach, it reduces the benefi
t of the mobile off ering functionality
to the rider, forcing the rider to use multiple
methods when one would suffi ce, it
still requires roughly the same amount
of staff support and signifi cantly reduces
the transactions over which the capital
investment can be amortized.
MassTransitmag.com/12385383
No plans for mobile ticketing
In place for 2 years or more
20 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | FEBRUARY 2018
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Masabi
Masabi
Capital District
Transportation Authority
in Albany, New York,
upgraded its fare payment
to make the passenger
experience more convenient.
Launched in January 2017,
CDTA’s Navigator system
is a reloadable smart card
and mobile app, offering
riders convenience,
security and savings.
CDTA and Genfare
worked together to
develop a customized,
user-friendly web-based
passenger interface.
MassTransitmag.com/12370832
Something we will look
into in the future
In planning/research stage
In the pilot stage/
roll-out in 2016
New within the last year
Developed by Bytemark, the MyDART app
means Des Moines Area Regional Transit
Authority riders no longer have to keep
track of a printed pass and can save time by
purchasing bus passes anywhere, anytime.
The app allowed DART to create
an unlimited local and express
route day pass, which they were
unable to do with paper passes.
When DART installs new fareboxes in
su mmer 2018, riders will be able to scan
the MyDART app at the farebox instead
of showing activated passes to the bus
operator. In the future, a trip planner
and real-time bus arrival information
will be available in the MyDART app.
MassTransitmag.com/12375598
Going
MOB I L E
TriMet CDTA
W
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR MOBILE TICKETING
WHAT CHALLENGE DO YOU WANT ANY
NEW TICKETING SYSTEM TO SOLVE
Other
Sales capacity
Waiting in line for tickets
Ability to innovate
Data analytics
Customer satisfaction
Vendor lock-In
Operating cost of fare collection,
including maintenance and reliability
Capital cost of fare collection
Cash handling and operations
Fake, overused or incorrect tickets
Fare Evasion (ticketless riders)
0% 10% 20 % 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Mobile Payments for All Size Agencies
Sources for charts:
APTA: American Public Transportation Association 2016 Fare Database, http://www.apta.com/resources/bookstore/Pages/Bookstore.aspx
ACI: 2016 ACI Worldwide Mass Transit Payments Survey, https://www.aciworldwide.com/-/media/files/collateral/trends/2016-aciworldwide
mass-transit-payments-survey-tl-us.pdf
Masabi: Masabi’s The Future of Fare Collection in Transportation, www.masstransitmag.com/12274822
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