Skip to main content

Umo comes to public transit in Canada's Sault Ste. Marie

Ontario city's transit system will still include a cash payment option
By Adam Hill September 21, 2023 Read time: 1 min
Boarding should now be quicker for bus passengers (© Candy1812 | Dreamstime.com)

Sault Ste. Marie Transit in Ontario, Canada, is using Cubic Transportation Systems' cloud-based payment system Umo.

Riders can go contactless by tapping a reloadable Umo smartcard or using the Umo Mobility app on mobile devices to pay their fare.

“One of the most anticipated features of the Umo system is the implementation of smart card bus passes, including automatic digital transfers,” said Brent Lamming, director of community services at the Corporation of the City of Sault Ste. Marie. 

“Passengers will enjoy the convenience of purchasing and storing their bus passes digitally. These smart cards, coupled with an intuitive mobile app, will offer a simplified method for accessing transit services, allowing riders to swiftly board buses without the hassle of handling physical tickets.”

Umo will help reduce boarding times, but customers will still be able to use cash using Tag Canada's integrated mechanical fareboxes.

Matt Newsome, SVP and GM, Cubic Transportation Systems, says: “The Umo platform helps enable frictionless, equitable access to transit for all, and we are excited to help bring those benefits to eastern Canada."

Funding was received from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program as well as the Canadian government and Province of Ontario.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lurraldebus and Masabi launch mobile ticketing service in Spain
    August 14, 2018
    Lurraldebus, the Spanish intercity public transport service operating in Gipuzkoa province, has launched a mobile ticketing service based on Masabi's Justride SDK platform. The solution is available in Spanish, English and Euskera and is intended to provide riders with a simple method for buying tickets. The LurTicket system allows passengers to download an app, developed by technology company Gerktek, which can be used to purchase tickets. Riders present the pass as an encrypted barcode to bus drivers.
  • Conduent sails along in north Italian lakes
    July 18, 2025
    Firm's EMV solution is one of the first for boat transportation in Italy
  • Masabi releases account-based ticketing solution
    June 18, 2019
    Masabi has launched Justride Validator, a ticketing device which it says will make account-based ticketing available for transport authorities of any size. Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi, says passengers are expecting to be able to use contactless bank cards and smart devices for ticketing. “However, the reality is that the hardware requirements have made it cost-prohibitive for many transit authorities around the globe,” he continues. “By failing to make tap and ride ticketing accessible to all transport
  • Cubic’s Ventra system achieves one billion transactions in Chicago
    May 19, 2016
    Cubic Transportation Systems’ (CTS) Ventra, the account-based open payment system launched in 2013 for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and suburban bus operator Pace, has processed more than one billion account-based journeys. CTA, with daily ridership of 1.6 million journeys, is the first major transit system in North America to implement account-based open payment and is Cubic’s first large-scale deployment of its NextAccount technology. Ventra supports both account-based processing through an a