Tri Met and Google team up to trial virtual public transit card

Portland’s Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet) has joined forces with Google to create a virtual public transit card via Android Pay. It allows riders to tap and pay their transit fare using a virtual Hop Card stored in their smartphone with Near Field Communication. The service expected to be available to users in the early part of next year following the beta launch in December 2017. Innovations in Transportation’s (INIT’s) back-end processing system, Mobilevario, serves as the
December 14, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Portland’s Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (1272 TriMet) has joined forces with Google to create a virtual public transit card via Android Pay. It allows riders to tap and pay their transit fare using a virtual Hop Card stored in their smartphone with Near Field Communication. The service expected to be available to users in the early part of next year following the beta launch in December 2017. 

Innovations in Transportation’s (INIT’s) back-end processing system, Mobilevario, serves as the core intelligence for the project and processes all forms of payment for the multi-agency system.

TriMet riders can tap their device to any of INIT’s 1,200 Proxmobil validators, Mobilevario calculates the fare, validates the transaction against the back-office account, and displays the result in real-time. It is said to provide accurate and up to date account information at any time.

Hot Fast Pass has been designed with an open architecture approach which allowed more than a dozen partners associated with the project to be integrated without changes to the core system.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Charging trial tests smartphones for road user charging
    January 26, 2012
    A new project is under way in Minnesota, investigating whether smartphones are technically and publicly acceptable for use in road user charging. Jason Barnes reports. In Minnesota, trials have been launched to determine whether smartphones are technologically viable and acceptable to the public for distance based road user charging (RUC). The Midwestern US state has engaged with Battelle to explore RUC technology options in a project which falls under the auspices of the US Federal Connected Vehicle progra
    Read More
  • Google maps the future of traffic and travel information?
    March 16, 2012
    Will the relentless growth of Google lead to it becoming the ultimate provider of travel information services? Huw Williams investigates Google’s strategy and David Crawford discovers what two principal rivals are doing to keep pace. In the first weeks of 2012 one company staked two divergent claims on the future of transport. One is the science fiction of only a decade ago, turned into reality: the driverless car. The other seems more prosaic, yet in its own way is just as significant a marker of the futur
    Read More
  • Montreal’s ARTM chooses Masabi’s Justride fare collection
    August 5, 2025
    Software as a Service solution will replace current Opus card in Canadian city
    Read More
  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a
    Read More

Highlighted Content