Cubic to enhance MTA fare collection system

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) is to carry out a major upgrade to the Maryland Transit Authority’s (MTA) automatic fare collection (AFC) system, under a US$4.8 million contract modification which also includes setting the foundation for new features and functionality. The upgraded system will provide the MTA with the opportunity to accept new payment methods, such as mobile payments, as well as add new features, including a new customer web portal and an integration path with third-party transport servi
November 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
378 Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) is to carry out a major upgrade to the Maryland Transit Authority’s (MTA) automatic fare collection (AFC) system, under a US$4.8 million contract modification which also includes setting the foundation for new features and functionality. The upgraded system will provide the MTA with the opportunity to accept new payment methods, such as mobile payments, as well as add new features, including a new customer web portal and an integration path with third-party transport services in the future.

Under the contract modification, CTS will upgrade AFC from its NextFareTM 4.0 revenue management system, to NextFare 7, a cost-effective solution giving the MTA the freedom to innovate, without having to overhaul the entire AFC system. The cloud-based platform will replace all the key functionality currently provided by the existing scheme and offer a number of advanced features, such as payment card industry (PCI) compliant payment application for processing credit and debit transactions; support of enhanced fare policy; and enhanced reporting and analytics, as well as allow the MTA to monitor the conditions of fare collection equipment, so that repairs can be made quickly and efficiently, little impact on customer service.

The platform can also be enhanced in the future to enable the MTA to integrate third-party systems, such as bike-sharing and ride-sharing services, into the transport experience for the public, in alignment with its BaltimoreLink program.

Related Content

  • February 17, 2021
    Building back better after Covid-19
    The Canadian Urban Transit Association has looked carefully at what’s required to put public transportation on a firm footing post-Covid: here are a few of the group’s recommendations…
    Read More
  • December 23, 2021
    Covid turns tolls cashless
    When coronavirus hit, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission made its long-planned e-tolling system permanent; this made sense, but it was still a difficult decision, explains the organisation’s Carl DeFebo
    Read More
  • January 30, 2012
    IntelliDrive and HOT lanes - the next generation?
    Janet Banner, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and Christopher Hill, Mixon Hill, Inc., outline efforts to explore the use of IntelliDrive technologies in HOT lane applications. On 21 October last year more than 100 transportation professionals came together for a workshop, either in person or via a webinar, to discuss the potential role of IntelliDriveSM technologies in enhancing the operations of High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. The discussions focused on a White Paper, commissioned by the Metropoli
    Read More
  • November 30, 2012
    Toronto to get electronic payment cards
    Toronto public transport passengers will soon be able to use a single-fare Presto card to get around on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) or seven other municipal transit systems in Ontario. Transit and government officials say the Presto fare system will be in place throughout the entire TTC system, subway stations, buses and new streetcars, by 2016. Bob Chiarelli, Ontario’s minister of transportation and infrastructure, said Toronto transit passengers have been requesting the electronic fare system fo
    Read More

Highlighted Content