Starting Monday, Chicago area transit riders will have a new and more convenient way to pay for rides on CTA and Pace, with the scheduled full public rollout of Ventra. The universal fare system will replace CTA and Pace’s existing, nearly 20-year-old fare payment system and offer transit customers to use a single fare card […]

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found in a recent survey that across the UK, almost half of all bus and rail users still use paper tickets. According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, only four in every 100 people in Yorkshire currently use a dedicated smart card for bus or rail, compared to 77% in London. PwC asked thousands of […]

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is planning a real-world test of its long-awaited fare collection system upgrade, according to a local news report. SEPTA riders should begin to see evidence that the transit agency is making progress by as early as this fall. Whether they are boarding a bus, train, or subway, it’s going […]

Utah Transit Authority is taking steps toward cashless bus and train fares with the launch of its new reloadable electronic fare card: FAREPAY. The card will enable commuters to simply purchase a fare card, load it with cash and use it to “tap” on and off any bus or train on the system, including the […]

The Chicago Transit Authority is waiving the $5 fee to obtain a Ventra transit through the end of the year, according to the Chicago Tribune. With Ventra, customers are presented with the flexibility of a modern fare payment system, including faster boarding, account management and value protection. A simple “tap” of a contactless card enables […]

Undergraduate students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a wearable alternative to smart cards. The group came up with the Sesame — as in “open sesame” — ring for use on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system. Commuters simply tap the ring in the center of the card target, much like their existing Charlie Card. […]

Identive is working together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore to design a new smart chip-based transit ticket for the Southeast Asian country’s extensive rail network. TransitLink, as the LTA administrator, has awarded Identive a three-year contract valued at $3.9 million to supply the tickets, which include near field communication (NFC) chips from […]

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a public proposal to seek customers’ views on the idea of discontinuing cash fare payment on all London buses by 2014, according to Kensington & Chelsea Today. This year, cash fares will make up less than one percent of bus journeys – down from 25% in 2000. Paying with […]