Skip to main content

US transit networks gear up for chip cards and mobile payments

Washington Metro has joined Chicago and New York in making plans to accept contactless bank payment cards at the turnstile, as a mass-market switch to EMV-based chip cards appears increasingly likely. Washington Metro has awarded Accenture a US$184 million contract to replace the existing fare collection systems for Metrorail, Metro-operated parking facilities, Metrobus and MetroAccess services. The new system will enable passengers to continue to use existing SmarTrip cards, while expanding fare paym
January 15, 2014 Read time: 1 min
Washington Metro has joined Chicago and New York in making plans to accept contactless bank payment cards at the turnstile, as a mass-market switch to EMV-based chip cards appears increasingly likely.

Washington Metro has awarded 1968 Accenture a US$184 million contract to replace the existing fare collection systems for Metrorail, Metro-operated parking facilities, Metrobus and MetroAccess services.

The new system will enable passengers to continue to use existing SmarTrip cards, while expanding fare payment to chip-enabled credit cards, federal government ID cards, and mobile phones using near field communications (NFC).

1000 Chicago Transit Authority has also decided to convert to the Ventra open-fare payment system from 378 Cubic Transportation Systems, while the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority is planning to move to EMV chip cards and mobile payments.

Related Content

  • March 16, 2022
    Indra upgrades ticketing in Chile 
    Indra is to deploy new ticket validators modelled after those installed on the bus network
  • January 28, 2014
    Transport ticketing award for Vix Technology
    UK-based fare management and passenger information systems provider Vix Technology has been announced as the winner of the Transport Ticketing Technology of the Year award. The award, for continuing improvements to the fare collection system the company designed and operates for Salt Lake City’s Utah Transit Authority (UTA), recognises the advances made in applying contactless payment technologies Vix Technology’s open-payment electronic fare collection platform Vix eO, adding new fare payment products s
  • June 11, 2012
    Google launches NFC-enabled transit payment card in Kenya
    Google launches NFC-enabled transit payment card in Kenya Google has launched Beba in Kenya, a pre-paid NFC (near field communication)-enabled card to allow cash-free payment of bus fares by transit travellers. According to TechMtaa, an African technology website, the move was expected, and is rolling out first in Nairobi. The card, which can be loaded with up the local equivalent of US$115, is likely attractive to customers, as it may help them dodge rising rates, or bus drivers that don’t provide exact or
  • August 30, 2017
    Vancouver’s TransLink achieves one billion Compass Card ‘taps’ since launch
    Canadian transportation authority TransLink’s Compass Card contactless smart card payment system, designed and integrated by Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has processed more than one billion ‘taps’ since its launch in 2015. Compass Card processes more than 43 million card ‘taps’ each month and over 1.5 million every weekday, with 95 per cent of all fares now being paid using a Compass product. The Compass Card links all of TransLink’s services and fare products in Metro Vancouver to a single payment s