Skip to main content

NFC Forum and APTA sign collaboration agreement

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the NFC Forum have signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will enable the two organisations to jointly educate the industry on near field communication (NFC) technologies supporting the needs of public transportation operators. The use of NFC for public transit ticketing is growing. Recently, New York State announced a plan to support NFC payments for the 11-million-user Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the UK Cards Asso
February 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The American Public Transportation Association (618 APTA) and the NFC Forum have signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will enable the two organisations to jointly educate the industry on near field communication (NFC) technologies supporting the needs of public transportation operators.

The use of NFC for public transit ticketing is growing. Recently, New York State announced a plan to support NFC payments for the 11-million-user Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the UK Cards Association unveiled a framework to implement contactless payments, including NFC, nationwide on all forms of public transit.

Through the MOU, APTA and the NFC Forum will work on joint programs including training courses, white papers, case study analyses, merchant and transportation customer research, webcasts, and hosted events or trade shows.

APTA will work with the NFC Forum Transport Special Interest Group (SIG) to define approaches for utilisation of NFC technology to address a range of needs, including supporting passenger information systems, ticketing, and proof of payment fares. APTA will also participate in global workshops led by the Transport SIG with leading standards organisations, including the GSM Association (representing mobile operators), CEN/TC278 (the organisation promoting intelligent transportation systems), Smart Ticketing Alliance and public transportation authorities for the purpose of gathering requirements and harmonising work across the groups.

Public transportation is a key target market for the NFC Forum. The NFC Forum has been active in promoting the adoption of NFC technology in public transportation, most recently forming an alliance in 2015 with the GSM Association, Smart Ticketing Alliance, and CEN/TC278 to bring about harmonization of specifications with regard to NFC technology for the public transport industry.

Related Content

  • July 4, 2024
    Unicard smart ticketing set for Scotland
    Solution will digitise Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s ZoneCard ticketing
  • May 4, 2016
    NFC Forum and GCF cooperation advances interoperable contactless ticketing
    The NFC Forum and the Global Certification Forum (GCF) have entered into a cooperation agreement that represents a major step toward the objective of providing interoperable contactless public transport access and ticketing using a broad range of NFC-enabled devices worldwide. The agreement allows both GCF and NFC Forum labs to run NFC Forum analogue and NFC tag test cases and recognise test results across both organisations.
  • November 5, 2021
    The world was your Oyster
    Embracing digital payments and transparent journey planning is key to changing traveller behaviour and accelerating integrated public transport, says Martin Howell of Worldline
  • December 17, 2013
    Cloud-based app paves way for near field ticketing
    Cubic latest introduction provides a short cut for transit authorities looking to offer travellers mobile, smart phone payment options. Transit operators wanting to provide travellers with a mobile fare payment option now have an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution in Cubic’s NextWave. Through the use of near field communications (NFC) technology, NextWave turns travellers’ mobile phones and tablets into the equivalent of a ticket vending machine able to instantly re-load contactless transit cards. It also enables the