“Dubbed ‘One Nation One Card’, the contactless card system is India’s first domestically developed transit platform and was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the first phase of the Ahmedabad metro service. The stored value card system comprises the NCMC card itself, an automatic fare collection system known as Sweekar and an NCMC standard fare gate known as Swagat. The cards “are bank issued debit/credit/prepaid cards and the customer may use this single card for payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail,” the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs explains.”

“With the SBB Preview App, customers can check in with the “EasyRide” function when they start their journey and check them out at any location. “EasyRide function” recognizes the distance traveled and automatically books the appropriate ticket, and always at the fairest price. If, for example, the value of the route traveled exceeds the price of a day ticket in one day, the customer will subsequently be charged the cheaper price of the day ticket.”

“Citymapper is becoming a fintech startup, sort of. The company announced a prepaid card called Citymapper Pass for users based in London. This new product is both a subscription service to aggregate all your transportation subscriptions and a plastic card to pay for your rides.”

“The UK Department for Transport has launched a consultation as it looks to expand account-based ticketing beyond London into areas which would see rail commuters using their bank cards as high-value tickets. The Pay-as-you-go on Rail Consultation outlines ambitions to roll out pay as you go (PAYG) rail travel across urban and regional commuter areas.”

“The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority expects to complete the T’s switch to an automated fare collection system by May 2021, but will begin rolling it out on a limited basis in late 2019. The system, among other changes, will mean the end of paying for any T rides with cash. Instead, riders will use a far card, a smartphone app, or a contactless card to tap and board. Riders will be able to reload the fare cards and apps online and at vending machines in all T stations and at select bus stops. The idea is to speed up boarding and to also make it easier for the MBTA to track and analyze rider data (to in part improve service).”

“In Argentina, users are now able to pay for public transport using Bitcoin (BTC). In order to offer this service, two Argentinian companies, Alto Viaje and Bitex decided to work together and connect the public transport to the crypto industry. The information was released by the local news site Cripto247.”

“For the first time on Thursday, you’ll be able to compare car rides and public transit trips all inside the Uber app, the ride-hailing giant has announced. If you’re headed from the Denver airport to Union Station downtown, for example, the app will show you all possible options — even those not operated by Uber — as part of its push to be a one-stop-shop for getting around.”

“INIT will also provide more than 100 cash and about 70 cashless Ticket Vending Machines (TVM) to facilitate the convenient purchase of tickets and fare media. Ticket office terminals and mobile sales units will be included in the project to allow MTS to sell fares during large events. Additionally, INIT will deliver about 900 fare validators for use on MTS buses and at rail station platforms. The validators will accept closed-loop payments such as an MTS-branded smartcard and be capable of accepting open payments such as bank-issued debit/credit cards and mobile wallets using Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.”

“Travelers today have access to more ride options than ever before, but with so much variation across services, the payment experience can be confusing. Many transit service providers are considering streamlining the traveler experience with mobility services through multimodal payments convergenceⁱ. The Secure Technology Alliance today released the second resource in its two-part series on multimodal payments convergence, outlining key considerations for successful convergence as well as recommendations for implementation.”

“The new Octopus App user interface not only features much easier and clearer navigation providing a brand-new mobile experience, a registered user can also check the past three months’ spending records of his/her Octopus via the O! ePay account – a service which also applies to iOS users and should be particularly welcomed by them as they can now instantly access their recent Octopus spending records anywhere any time without the need of an NFC device.”

“Metrolinx, the Crown agency that oversees the Presto system, has just released a new beta version of an app that will eventually allow customers to avoid the line by loading their cards directly from their smartphones. Presto customers everywhere have fallen victim to the huge lineups that form in front of OC Transpo service centres. This new app seems to provide a potential solution to the inconvenience, allowing users the chance to load their passes from the luxury of their own homes.”

“Fitbit, the leading global wearables brand, announced today that Fitbit users in Sydney with a Fitbit Ionic^TM, Fitbit Versa^TM and its newest tracker, Fitbit Charge 3^TM , can now leave their Opal cards at home and instead use Fitbit Pay^TM on their Fitbit device to quickly and easily pay for public transport. Following the contactless payment strategy rolled out by NSW Transport on Sydney’s ferry, light rail and train networks in November, Fitbit users can now use selected MasterCard and Visa debit and credit cards loaded into their Fitbit Pay Wallet to pay for their trip.”

“As transit systems around the world look to upgrade their infrastructure, one of the key areas of improvement center around enabling contactless payments to allow consumers to scan payment cards or use mobile devices to pay for fares. The enhancements are meant to accomplish multiple tasks, from reducing the overhead costs for transit agencies to cutting the amount of time commuters spend waiting in lines to reload fare cards or buy individual tickets.”

“The use of credit and debit cards to pay for public transport trips has been expanded to NSW’s rail network following a trial on ferry and light rail services. Passengers who opt for their credit cards will pay the equivalent of standard distance-based fares, unlike in previous trials when they were slugged a more expensive single-trip ticket. However, the use of credit cards will not offer commuters the same benefits as those using Opal cards, which includes half-price travel after eight trips in a week, or a $2 transfer discount when switching modes of transport such as from a bus to a train.”

“UK regional transportation operator Network West Midlands is piloting a new service that lets its Swift transit card holders store their cards in Google Pay, enabling Android NFC phone owners to tap on to West Midlands Metro trams without needing to first open an app or select their Swift card.”

“Preparing the launch of its dedicated hardware and service solutions for 2019, Ingenico has joined the Visa Ready for Transit programme to accelerate the deployment of seamless, frictionless commuting systems, using contactless payments. Ingenico is developing a range of terminals specifically designed to meet the transportation market requirements. Integrated into the main ticketing platforms, Ingenico’s payment terminals combine security, speed and robustness to process closed- and open-loop cards.”

“Cubic Corporation (NYSE :CUB ) today announced that its Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) business division has signed a $394 million contract with the San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to deliver next-generation fare payment technology and operational services to the Clipper smart card system serving the Bay Area. Clipper currently links 22 regional transit operators and facilitates more than 825,000 journeys per weekday across bus, rail, subway and ferry services.”

“transit system may be able to pay their fares with their phones in the near future thanks to Toronto Transit Commission support for platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay.”