By: Mike Nash, vice president, ACS Transportation Solutions
When you’re rushing to catch that bus or train, the last thing you want to do is have to stop and buy a ticket or find the right card or right amount of cash. Using a contactless credit or debit card would speed that process up – major transit agencies in the US are planning to let riders do this in the near future.
You’ve long been able to use your contactless card to pay with a wave of the card at the gas station, grocery store and elsewhere – why not at the bus station, rail line or subway?
Agencies like New Jersey Transit, the nation’s third largest transit authority, are proving it’s possible. NJ Transit is in the middle of a yearlong program showing they can improve service and lower costs by allowing commuters to pay with a regular bank card instead of a fare card, with approvals and payments processed in the blink of an eye, keeping lines moving.
ACS is currently working with NJ Transit on a program that started last year as the New York New Jersey Transit Trial and also included the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A survey or riders shows more then 80% were satisfied or very satisfied with the pilot including their ability to board and buy a fare with a regular credit card. The same survey also showed more then half preferred the ability pay with a credit card as opposed to the current system.
ACS Transportation Solutions is leading the way in making it easier to buy your ticket for the bus, subway, train or other public transportation. To learn more listen to this podcast on Xerox Real Business Radio at the right column of this blog, or by clicking here.
