Skip to main content

Flowbird helps Minneapolis go contactless 

Kerbside kiosks replaced with multi-use terminals to pay for transport and parking services
By Ben Spencer April 9, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
Flowbird says payments will be enabled on Metro Transit’s BRT system (© Robert Mullan | Dreamstime.com)

Flowbird has replaced kerbside kiosks in the US city of Minneapolis with 700 CWT touch multi-use terminals, enabling contactless payment technology for transport and parking services. 

Flowbird says the terminals offer citizens a range of payment options, including contactless credit or debit card, or a digital wallet such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

This enables payments for on-and-off street parking in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region and for off-board fare collection for Metro Transit’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the company adds. 

Flowbird's solar-powered terminals are equipped with full-colour touch displays that resemble the look and feel of a tablet. 

The kiosks wirelessly communicate to Flowbird’s analytics platform to help the city analyse urban mobility activity. 

Plans are also underway to deploy Flowbird's ticketing terminals across the city’s Orange line light rail system and its D-Line Bus Rapid Transit network over the next two years.

In 2016, Metro Transit procured the current Flowbird system for off-board fare collection on its A-Line BRT to help quicken boarding times at each station.

The terminals are managed using Flowbird’s cloud-based back office with bank card transactions processed through its ArchiPEL banking solution. 

Transaction and alert information is communicated to the central system in real-time for reporting and maintenance purposes. 
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Polis x Pride 2022: Mind the queer public transport gap
    June 29, 2022
    Cities are striving to provide inclusive public transport for all. This cannot and will not be achieved without tackling gender and homophobic-based violence across our transit systems. While this is undoubtedly a major undertaking, Polis members — and their peers — are proving real action is possible...
  • AlphaStruxure to provide e-bus microgrid
    May 24, 2021
    Energy as a Service project aims to cut emissions in Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Plastic is fantastic for payment platform interoperability
    April 2, 2014
    The Sino Visitor Pass aims to promote trade between Singapore and China by making travel easier, as Jon Masters finds out. Singapore has notched up another first in transportation innovation with announcement of a dual-currency payment card in partnership with the province of Guangdong in China. From the middle of 2014, visitors to Singapore and Guangdong will be able to use a ‘Sino Visitor Pass’ to pay for use of public transportation among other things.
  • Plastic is fantastic for payment platform interoperability
    April 2, 2014
    The Sino Visitor Pass aims to promote trade between Singapore and China by making travel easier, as Jon Masters finds out. Singapore has notched up another first in transportation innovation with announcement of a dual-currency payment card in partnership with the province of Guangdong in China. From the middle of 2014, visitors to Singapore and Guangdong will be able to use a ‘Sino Visitor Pass’ to pay for use of public transportation among other things.