MTA gets rolling on contactless transit system
02 February, 2011
category: Contactless, Transit
New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is ready to start building its contactless fare payment system after nearly four years of testing, according to Digital Transactions News.
MTA officials say they are finalizing a broad outline of the system and will soon receive formal proposals from vendors to begin work on a detailed design, which will see an end to the 15 year-old magnetic stripe MetroCard.
According to DTN, the system will be based on ISO 1443 compliant contactless credit, debit and prepaid cards, in addition to contactless fobs and NFC-stickered handsets.
The MTA expects the new interoperable system will reduce its collection costs and make it easier for riders to seamlessly switch from one mode of public transit to the other, including the subway, buses, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad.
Planners have also thrown E-ZPass into the mix, which would allow drivers to make cashless toll-highway payments, says DTN.
The MTA has not yet revealed a budget for the new system.
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