Payment cards coming to Chicago public transit
29 June, 2010
category: Contactless, Transit
The Chicago Transit Authority is planning to pilot an array of credit card acceptance technologies on city buses, including contactless payment, according to cardratings.com.
The CTA is planning the switch in order to save time and tighten up efficiency. Research shows that a typical cash transaction takes 25 seconds, as opposed to a credit card swipe, which takes only 2. Cash transactions can therefore lead to delayed routes and missed connections.
CTA officials are now accepting proposals from competing companies to launch the pilot payment program, which they hope will help get Chicagoans to work on time more frequently and make the city more tourist-friendly.
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