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In June 2018, the MTA revised the timeline for implementation of the then-unnamed new payment system. The first stage of implementation would take place in May 2019. In the second stage, all subway stations would receive OMNY readers by October 2020, in preparation for the third stage, which involved the launch of a prepaid OMNY card by February 2021. The fourth stage involved the installation of OMNY vending machines by March 2022, and the MetroCard would be discontinued in 2023.
Initially, there were disagreements about what the payment system should be called; some executives wanted a "traditional" name that resembled the MetroCard's name, while others wanted more unusual names. Possible names included "MetroTap", "Tony", "Liberty" and "Pretzel". The name "OMNY" was eventually chosen as being "modern and universal". The OMNY name was announced in February 2019. "OMNY" is an acronym of "One Metro New York," intended to signify its eventual broad acceptance across the New York metropolitan area.
An internal trial launched in March 2019, involving over 1,100 MTA employees and 300 other participants. Over 1,200 readers were installed in subway stations and buses for the public trial, and the OMNY.info website was created. Weeks before the beginning of the public launch, $85.4 million had been spent on the project, out of a total budget of $644.7 million. The budget had risen to $677 million by June 2020 and to $732 million by November 2020.
At a presentation in May 2019, the MTA's Capital Program Oversight Committee specified the following items to be implemented at an unspecified future date: launch a mobile app, add OMNY readers to Access-a-Ride paratransit vehicles, and add readers on Select Bus Service buses to support all-door boarding. However, the committee expressed concerns that some bank cards would not be accepted, and that OMNY transactions could take longer than MetroCard transactions, increasing crowding at turnstiles.'All-door boarding at Select Bus Service routes with OMNY was to begin sometime in early 2020.
OMNY launched to the public on May 31, 2019, on Staten Island buses and at 16 subway stations. At first, OMNY only supported single-ride fares paid with contactless bank cards; mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay were also accepted, and free transfers between OMNY-enabled routes were available with the same transfer restrictions placed upon the MetroCard. In June and July 2019, Mastercard offered "Fareback Fridays" to promote the system, where it would refund up to two rides made using OMNY on Fridays. The OMNY system reached one million uses within its first 10 weeks and two million uses within 16 weeks. On one day in June, 18,000 taps were recorded from bank cards issued in 82 countries.
, the MTA also plans to use OMNY in the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad over "the next several years". In June 2019, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it was in talks with the MTA to implement OMNY on the PATH by 2022. There are no plans for OMNY to be used on NJ Transit, which plans to implement a new fare payment system with a different contractor.
Plans for OMNY installation on the LIRR and Metro-North were still being revised . The COVID-19 pandemic had pushed back the implementation of fare cards on the commuter railroads from February 2021 to June 2022, and that of in-system vending machines from March 2022 to June 2023.
This list shows when direct entry by OMNY reader became possible on each bus line and subway segment. A green row indicates when a subway line fully implemented OMNY.
Free transfers are allowed between MTA subways and most buses, if boarded within two hours. In order to allow for operation on vehicles disconnected from the MTA communications network, MetroCards store information about the transfer on the card itself. Third-party digital wallets, debit cards, credit cards generally cannot store transit-specific information on the consumer card or device. OMNY solves this problem by only charging riders once a day, after vehicles have had a chance to return to base and download boarding data. Though the second entry may display to the rider that the full fare is being charged, as long as the same device was used within the two-hour window, it is discounted when calculating the amount to actually be paid.
The oversight group Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) has stated concerns about the lack of privacy regulation in the OMNY system, specifically that trip data may be used by the New York City Police Department for police surveillance or might be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track undocumented immigrants.
In February 2020, the MTA warned that some customers using Apple Pay's Express Transit feature might be accidentally double-charged if they were using a MetroCard. This occurred when riders unintentionally had their phones in proximity to the OMNY readers. At that point, the issue was relatively rare, having been reported 30 times.
The Freedom Card, stylized as FREEDOM Card, is a contactless smartcard fare collection system used by the PATCO Speedline in New Jersey and Philadelphia.
The chip embedded in the card is a MIFARE DESFire EV1 with 4kb of storage, manufactured by NXP Semiconductors. Because it uses a common communication standard, the card serial number and manufacturing date can be read by modern smartphones that advertise support for near field communication. Balance/trip data stored on the card is encrypted and cannot be read by non-PATCO equipment.
Ever since SEPTA introduced the SEPTA Key card as its preferred mode of fare collection, efforts to integrate these two automated systems have been ongoing. The main technical challenge is that traditional Freedom Cards store balance value on the card itself, while Key cards rely on a centralized account-based system. PATCO has introduced Freedom Share cards that rely on a similar system and can hence be used on all SEPTA transit routes (but not on SEPTA Regional Rail), in addition to the Speedline itself. There are also plans to integrate the fare payment of the NJ Transit's River Line.
Freedom cards are available for purchase for $5 at vending machines at PATCO stations. Freedom Share cards can only be purchased at the service centers at Broadway and Woodcrest stations (after filling out an application form), and can be replenished via all existing methods. PATCO is in the process of setting up a website to allow users to do this online. Due to the introduction of these cards, the sale of SEPTA tickets and discounted transfers from vending machines at PATCO stations was ended on September 30, 2018.
When entering a station, cardholders are required to tap their card at the fare gate to gain access to the boarding area. To exit, cardholders are required to tap their card again at their destination. The system immediately calculates the total fare and subtracts it from the balance of the card. If the card has insufficient funds to pay for the fare, the rider will be prompted to visit a vending machine behind the gate to reload value on the card before being allowed to exit. When Freedom Share cards are used on SEPTA transit, the standard $2 fare is deducted.
SmartLink is a RFID-enabled credit card-sized smartcard that is the primary fare payment method on the PATH transit system in Newark and Hudson County in New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City. It was designed to replace PATH's paper-based farecard, QuickCard, and there was plans to expand its usage throughout most transit agencies in the tri-state area. The SmartLink card has been available to the public since July 2, 2007. Although the MetroCard used in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) can also be used on the PATH, the reverse is not true for SmartLink, as it cannot be used when riding in the MTA.
However, it is due to be replaced by OMNY by 2023.
All SmartLink cards are eligible for online registration. In order to register a card, one must simply go to PATH's registration page and complete a form detailing the card holder's name, the unique serial code of the SmartLink card, and address. An account holder's information can be accessed online or by calling the SmartLink hotline. Money from lost cards can be transferred to a replacement card if the customer has an account; however, all replacement cards carry a $5 fee.
Registration of the card also permits the holder to monitor its usage and to link the SmartLink card to a credit card in the automatic replenishment program. When the card balance drops to five trips (or five days, for riders with an unlimited pass), the SmartLink card is topped up using the credit card on the account. This program can be managed online, on the PATH website.
Pre-loaded SmartLink cards with 10 trips are available at all stations for $30.00 (10 trips at $2.50 each, plus a $5.00 card fee). However, MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) at all PATH stations are able to refill the SmartLink cards to a monetary amount equal to 1, 2, 4, 10, 20 and 40 trips as well as the daily or 30 day unlimited passes.
$5.00 SmartLink Cards with no trips, ready for charging at any PATH MetroCard Vending Machine, are available from vending machines at 33rd Street, Hoboken, Journal Square, Exchange Place, Newport and World Trade Center.
Pre-loaded SmartLink Cards are available for $55.00 (20 trips at $2.50 each, plus a $5.00 card fee) at newsstands in PATH terminals (33rd Street, Hoboken, Journal Square, Newark, World Trade Center). Zero trip and 20 trip cards are also available for purchase online on the PATH website.
When buying a SmartLink card for the first time, an additional, one-time $5 fee is levied to offset the cost of producing the card. The cards can be refilled in specified numbers of trips or by adding unlimited passes. When refilling, the regular fare structure is used and the $5 card purchase fee is not imposed. As of November 1, 2019 the following fare structure is in effect:
The maximum number of trips that can be loaded on the card is 140. An unlimited pass can be loaded on top of a regular trip SmartLink card. When that occurs, the individual rides will remain in the background of the card. When the unlimited pass expires the individual trips will be available for use.
†Discounted fares are offered to seniors 65 years or older. The disabled, military, and students are not included in PATH's reduced-fare program.
The initial testing phase was delayed several times due to software problems. It was originally intended to start in August 2006, but was postponed to October 2006. Continuing problems moved the testing phase of Senior SmartCards to February 2007.
On July 2, 2007, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) commenced the initial roll-out of the SmartLink card to the general public at the World Trade Center station. On July 23, 2007 the card was introduced at the 33rd Street station. On August 6, 2007 the card was introduced at the Hoboken station.
During the initial roll out, the cost of the card was $29 which included the 20 ride fare of $24 plus a $5 charge for the card. In February 2008 the cards were formally rolled out to the general public at all stations. In the initial stage, the SmartLink card allowed riders to place the same value on it as if they were purchasing a QuickCard by using machines located in PATH stations.
On October 24, 2008, the Port Authority announced that as of November 30, 2008, NJ Transit ticket machines on NJ Transit stations would no longer sell the QuickCard and as of December 31, 2008, NJ Transit ticket machines in PATH stations (Newark, Hoboken, Journal Square, Exchange Place, and Pavonia-Newport) would no longer sell the cards. The machines at the 33rd Street, Grove Street and WTC stations were removed in 2008.
At the end of 2010, the QuickCard was discontinued and replaced with the SmartLink Gray card, a non-refillable, disposable version of the SmartLink card. This card was sold at selected newsstand vendors and was available in 10, 20 and 40 trips (at the discounted price of $2.10 per trip). Unlike the regular SmartLink cards, the SmartLink Gray cards had an expiration date.
In 2016, PATH announced that it would discontinue the sale of SmartLink Gray cards on January 31 in favor of passengers using the refillable, plastic SmartLink card. A short term exchange program was offered until February 2016 to allow passengers to swap their paper card for the plastic card without having to pay the $5.00 fee for the plastic card.
The Port Authority, part of several transit systems in the New York-New Jersey region, is hoping that one day there will be a universal fare card for the region's transportation. However, estimates for expanding the SmartLink card to the New York City Subway and MTA buses may cost as high as $300 million. Estimates for adding New Jersey Transit would cost an additional $100 million.
In June 2019, the Port Authority announced it was in talks with the MTA to implement OMNY on the PATH by 2022. Under the presented plan, SmartLink would be phased out along with the MetroCard by 2023.
In North America, a Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass)—also known as a Universal Access Transit Pass—is a program that provides students who are enrolled in participating post-secondary institutions with unlimited access to local transit.
Programs are funded through mandatory fees that either eligible students pay for each term in which they are registered or are included in the students' tuition. For example, the University of Washington and the U-Pass program in Chicago have mandatory U-Pass fees. Fees are transferred to the local transit authority to fund the required transit service. Because fees are collected from a large participant base, U-Pass prices are lower than the amount students would otherwise pay for monthly passes or tickets over the course of a term. The U-Pass price charged to students depends on a variety of factors which differ among municipalities, transit systems and post-secondary institutions.
U-Pass programs offer students a way to lower their transportation costs while at school and also benefit the local community and the environment. U-Pass programs can provide the following benefits:
U-Pass programs that require a 100% adoption rate by universities may subsidize the U-Pass at the expense of students who drive, walk, or bike to school and who do not use transit to get to other locations. Some U-Pass programs offer exemptions for students with mobility restrictions and students who live out of the program range, such as exemptions for students who live in Quebec but commute to school in Ottawa, Ontario.
Thirty academic institutions throughout Canada currently participate in a U-Pass program.
In 1973, Queen's University at Kingston implemented the "Bus-It" program with Kingston Transit, making it the first university in Canada to implement a universal transit pass program. Nearby St. Lawrence College also participates in this program. Students are required to pay for the service as part of student activity fees.
137 academic institutions throughout the United States currently participate in a U-Pass program, including the following.
Participation is optional for faculty and staff, who pay $136/quarter for the program. The university, in turn, pays transit operators on a per trip basis according to a negotiated trip rate. The negotiated trip rate varies by operator, but is lower than the cash fare.Studies of UW's U-Pass program demonstrate that since the program began, drive alone commuting has decreased by some 38%. The U-Pass program resulted in a significant increase in demand for transit services and over time as ridership has increased, so has transit service to the campus. The program also generates approximately $7.5 million annually for King County Metro alone.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) launched its U-PASS program in 1998. Within three years, 22 colleges and universities had joined the program, by entering into a contractual agreement with CTA to provide the U-Pass to all full-time students. The CTA currently contracts with 52 area colleges and universities to offer all students discounted rides for a semester.
All enrolled students are required to purchase the U-Pass. The pass enables the students to make unlimited trips on all CTA buses and trains during the academic year. Students pay for the pass as part of the regular tuition and fees assessed by the participating institutions. The institutions are charged for the U-PASS based on a daily per student charge that was initially set at 50 cents and increased on a regular basis. Since the fall of 2013, the new rate is $1.07 per day, or about $15 per semester. On a monthly basis, students save a minimum of $66 per month over the full-fare price. U-Pass provides more than 35 million rides annually for students.
The Breeze system uses a "Breeze card". The "card", made of plastic, is durable and can be purchased for $2. The card can be reloaded on a bus (cash only) or at a Breeze vending machine (BVM). There is also a "ticket" composed of coated paper around the RFID antenna, which are only available for groups, school students, and during special events.
The fares are authenticated by RFID at the rail station fare gates or at the fare boxes in the buses. The cards are also used to receive transfers when riders tap to exit the rail station. Transfers are automatically loaded when riders tap their Breeze cards as they enter a bus.
In preparation for the Breeze Card, MARTA initially deployed the Breeze Ticket, a limited-use paper stored value card. During the installation phase (December 2005 to September 2006) Breeze gates were installed in all stations, there were new bus fare boxes and Breeze Vending Machines "BVMs", in which individuals can buy Tickets encoded with one ride. MARTA first implemented Breeze at the Bankhead station in December 2005. System wide installation (both train stations and buses) was completed in early September, making MARTA the first system in the United States to move towards only smart cards for fare (excepting cash).
Between October 6, 2006 and July 2007, patrons were allowed to purchase Breeze Cards (which initially expired three years after first use) for free. Also, starting October 2006, patrons were allowed to reload Breeze Tickets (which expire 90 days after purchase). After July 2007, the price to purchase a Breeze card and a Breeze ticket were set to $5 and $0.50 respectively. Now, the BVMs provide patrons with the ability to check a card's balance, and pay for parking at certain stations. The BVMs currently accept credit cards and cash for payment.
The system stopped selling tokens in the late fall, and magnetic weekly and monthly MARTA cards were still sold until July 2007 when magnetic cards were invalidated permanently; signalling completion of the Breeze system conversion. Breeze cards became available by mail to customers that pre-ordered starting September 30, 2007. As the conversion reached its final phase, MARTA hosted "token exchanges"(October–December), allowing for people with rolls of tokens to have the number of tokens encoded on an extended-use card.
In May 2007 MARTA began to charge a 50 cent surcharge on all Breeze Tickets. In July 2007 MARTA also stopped offering free Breeze Cards online and order forms from MARTA Ride Stores. Magnetic cards were invalidated permanently and MARTA considered the Breeze system complete.
In July 2007 MARTA indicated that pay per boarding was scheduled to begin. This meant that all customers would have to pay with a Breeze Card, ticket or cash. Transfers were only available on Breeze fare media – no paper transfers or bus to rail magnetic transfers were to be issued. When this happened, to transfer free to MARTA, it was necessary to use a Breeze Card or Breeze Ticket because MARTA was no longer accepting paper transfers or bus to rail transfers.
In July 2017 the original blue Breeze cards were discontinued and replaced with new silver cards that offer "added security to combat fraud and abuse."
MARTA's Breeze allows riders to load money on the card for use over time, and to add 7- and 30-day passes that are not fixed to a calendar period. The system provides a better way for MARTA to analyze transit patterns, allowing for schedule changes to suit demand, and free up more staff to work directly with customers in stations. Breeze also helps prevent fare evasion, which in previous years cost an estimated US$10 million annually.
The upgrade to Breeze also resulted in a complete replacement of all fare gates and token-based system. The previous system was subject to entrance without payment, as a low turnstile permitted "turnstile jumping" and a handicapped gate could easily be opened by reaching over to push the exit bar. Moreover, there were instances where the turnstile mechanisms would be deteriorated such that some people could forcefully advance the turnstiles with their bodies. The new system offers taller gates and cannot be opened from the outside without first paying.
The new system allows MARTA to consider using exit fares and distance-based fares. However, MARTA has stated it has no plans to implement any changes to its existing flat one-way fare policy.
Other transit systems have expressed interest in expanding the Breeze infrastructure to take advantage of seamless transfers as provided by reciprocal agreements with MARTA. The first system to adopt Breeze was Cobb Community Transit, which planned to implement Breeze along with MARTA's timeline.
The pilot installation of the system at the Bankhead station created controversy when it was discovered the fare gates ended from the ground, allowing fare evaders to crawl underneath the gates. The issue was since corrected with the attachment of plastic bars to the bottom of the gates, reducing the gap to and virtually eliminating the possibility of fare evaders crawling through it. Incidents have also been noted in which people trick the sensors to believe that a person is exiting a station while actually entering, but has been alleviated by requiring the use of a card to exit stations.
There have been many problems with BVMs not accepting credit cards and/or debit cards that have lasted for days.
The Breeze Card uses the MIFARE smart-card system from Dutch company NXP Semiconductors, a spin-off from Philips. The disposable, single-use tickets contain MIFARE Ultralight technology. The first generation of Breeze cards were MIFARE Classic cards and were blue in color. These cards have been phased out due to known security weaknesses and are no longer valid for transportation. The current generation Breeze cards, which are grey in color, are based on MIFARE DESFire EV1 technology.
In 1993, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and County Connection launched a pilot program named Translink (not to be confused with other agencies with that name) that allowed the use of a single fare card between the two systems. The card, which used magnetic stripe technology, was envisioned to one day include all Bay Area transit agencies. However, due to technical problems, the program was abandoned two years later.
Translink had a projected capital cost of $4 million when undertaken in 1993. In its current form, first as TransLink and later as Clipper, implementation was expected to cost $30 million. Cost estimates have since increased; in 2008, the projected 25-year capital and operations costs were estimated at $338 million.
Implementation took more than a decade. In 1998, MTC envisioned full availability of TransLink by 2001. However, it was fully operational for only five transit agencies by 2009.
TransLink was developed by Australian-based ERG Group and Motorola under the ERG-Motorola alliance in April 1999. However, upon the launch of Clipper, Cubic Transportation Systems took over administration of distribution, customer service, and financial settlement of the program.
On , MTC changed the TransLink name to Clipper, an homage to the clipper ships of the 19th century, the fastest way to travel from the East Coast to San Francisco, and eliminated the contact interface which had been used to load funds onto the cards at TransLink machines.
In October 2010, the MTC selected 路路通 (Pinyin: Lùlùtōng, the "Go Everywhere Card", lit. "every transit route/line pass") as the official Chinese name for Clipper. In Spanish it is known as "tarjeta Clipper".
In 2014, the MTC started an initiative to design the next generation version of the Clipper system, nicknamed "C2" or "Clipper 2.0". The contract with Cubic for the existing Clipper system expired in 2019, and the system architecture dates from the 1990s. These factors led the MTC to start developing a next generation system planned to begin operation in 2021. The new system was specified to include a mobile app as well as integration with digital wallets. The upgrade was funded in part by $50 million from Regional Measure 3, a bridge toll increase approved in June 2018.
In December 2020, BART announced that it had converted all of its ticket machines to Clipper-only, discontinuing the sale of paper magstripe tickets that had been used since the system's inception in the 1970s. Existing paper tickets remain valid and add-fare machines inside the paid area of each station can be used to add fare to paper tickets if they have insufficient fare remaining to exit at the station in question.
On April 15, 2021, Clipper became available in Apple Wallet, and the Clipper mobile app for iOS was released. Integration with Google Pay and an Android app were released on May 19, 2021.
Obtaining a card was free from introduction in June 2010 to encourage users to adopt the card, until September 1, 2012 when new adult cards began to cost $3. This charge covers the cost (approximately $2) to manufacture each card and reduces the incentive to throw away the card if the value goes negative when fare is calculated on exit. The $3 fee is waived if the card is registered to auto-load more value (in which case it cannot go negative). There is no fee to create new virtual Clipper cards in mobile wallets, or to transfer plastic Clipper cards to mobile wallets.
Passengers can add money and transit passes to their Clipper cards in person ("at participating retailers, participating transit agencies' ticket vending machines and ticket offices, Clipper Customer Service Centers, and Clipper Add Value Machines") at work, automatically, online, or using the Clipper mobile app. While money and passes added in person are available to use immediately, doing the same by telephone, online, or using the mobile app may take 3–5 days to register on a physical Clipper card. Cash value and passes added online or via the mobile app to virtual Clipper cards in Apple Wallet or Google Pay are available for immediate use, except for BART High-Value Discount tickets; these are available by the following day.
Clipper is currently accepted on 24 Bay Area transit services:
A number of smaller regional transit agencies have not yet joined Clipper, including ACE and Rio Vista Delta Breeze. Clipper is not accepted on Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor or San Joaquins trains, despite these serving the Bay Area.
The fare rules for each participating transit service are set by the agency operating the service, not by Clipper. Each service has differing rules that approximate the fare collection rules used by that service prior to Clipper adoption, and are adapted to the needs of that service. For example, Golden Gate Transit uses a zone-based fare system, so it requires passengers to tag on when boarding and tag off when alighting; in contrast, San Francisco’s Muni has a flat fare structure so it only requires that passengers tag on when boarding.
Clipper cards are accepted by Bay Wheels, the Bay Area's bikeshare system, as well as some electronic bicycle lockers operated by BikeLink. For each of these systems, the Clipper card is used not for payment but only as a key; users must have a credit or debit card linked to their Bay Wheels or BikeLink account, and usage fees are charged to this linked payment card, not deducted from the Clipper card's stored value. These systems are not compatible with mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay; only physical Clipper cards may be used.
Beginning in 2013, a few parking garages in the Bay Area accepted Clipper for payment as part of a pilot program. Funds used for parking were kept separate from those used for transit. This program was discontinued effective September 1, 2017.
Clipper cards contain an NXP Semiconductors MIFARE DESFire (MF3ICD40) or MIFARE DESFire EV1 (MF3ICD41) integrated circuit inside the card. The card operates on the 13.56 MHz range, putting it into the Near-Field Communication category. Because the card uses NFC technology, any NFC-enabled device can read the serial number, travel history, and current balance on the card. However, data cannot be written to the card without the proper encryption key, preventing unauthorized access to funds on the card. The former TransLink cards, while still functional on the fare system readers, do not conform to MIFARE and are unreadable by 13.56 MHz readers.
The waiting period between synchronizations may cause some cards to report lower funds than are actually on the corresponding Clipper account. In order to alleviate this problem, , and/or the card needs to be tagged at an internet-enabled or recently synchronized device.
On April 15, 2021, the Clipper mobile app for iOS was released, and Clipper became available in Apple Wallet, joining other transit cards such as Suica, Pasmo, and TAP. Supported devices include iPhone 8 or later and Apple Watch Series 3 or later. Customers can create new virtual Clipper cards or transfer their existing plastic Clipper cards to Apple Wallet by using their iPhone's built-in NFC reader.
On May 19, 2021, the Clipper mobile app was released for Android, and Clipper became available in Google Pay. Phones must have an NFC chip and be running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or later to be used for mobile payment.
Physical Clipper cards transferred to mobile wallets can no longer be reloaded or used to pay for fares, but will continue to work as keys to unlock Bay Wheels bikes and BikeLink bike lockers (see "" above). TransLink cards cannot be directly transferred to mobile wallets, as they cannot be read by the NFC reader inside a mobile phone.
The Go-To card is a contactless smart card used to pay fares for bus, light rail, and commuter rail lines operated by Metro Transit and other transit agencies in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The system has significantly sped up boardings on area buses while alleviating wear and tear on existing ticket machines and fare boxes. The old magnetic strip reading machines were weather sensitive and could not be placed out in the elements like at the Hiawatha Line light rail stations.
The Go-To card went into full operation in early 2007.
The Go-To card was originally meant to go into service in September 2003 and become the first such system in the United States, but technical difficulties delayed introduction. Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. worked under a contract valued at $16.4 million, but Metro Transit stopped payment at $9.4 million in May 2003 when it became apparent that the rollout would be behind schedule.
Cubic Transportation Systems initially promoted this system as the first contactless smart card installation in the country, but since introduction was delayed, at least one other system in the U.S. went into use ahead of the Go-To card. While traditional smart card systems require the card to be swiped through or inserted into a reader, the Go-To card requires a passenger to tap it against the reading device. This reduces mechanical wear dramatically, and removes the need for readers to be hardened against the sometimes cold and wet climate of Minnesota. Ticket machines on Metro Transit's Blue Line were designed with the Go-To card in mind.
Before this system was sent into full release, some Metro Transit employees and selected area riders were part of a test program, started in the latter half of 2004, using the cards as they go about their daily business. In November 2004 after five months of service, Metro Transit's general manager stated that the devices only achieved 20% reliability.
Cubic said that the issues that were originally delaying introduction were software problems. Frequently, either the reader or the card did not properly detect when it has been used. Software for the central computer system, which handles synchronization and how funds are replenished, was not fully operational until late April 2005. In March 2006 Metro Transit sent Cubic a letter of default demanding a plan to correct issues with the 2 and a half year delayed system.
The underlying technology is Philips' MIFARE system, implementing the ISO/IEC 14443 (Type A) standard.
In November 2005, Metro Transit allowed 18,000 trial users to begin using the Go-To card system, with hopes of rolling out the cards to all users by the fourth quarter of 2006.
On November 15, 2006, Metro Transit unveiled the Go-To card for 2,500 users to use during a trial period lasting until January 31, 2007. By April 2007, Go-To cards were being sold to the general public at Metro Transit stores. It is also possible to buy and refill cards at other locations that sell transit passes, such as some local grocery stores.
The Metro Transit U-Pass program is a discounted transit pass sold only to University of Minnesota students or employees taking at least one credit of courses. The pass is purchased each semester, is only effective for one semester, and has a mandatory $19 (as of Spring 2013) transportation fee not included with the actual cost of the pass. The University of Minnesota switched to the Go-To card in 2007 which allows for semester renewal up to six years.
The Campus Zone Pass allows free travel between the West Bank, East Bank, and Stadium Village Green Line light rail stations. The card is free to registered students, faculty, and staff of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Metropass is a transit pass for trains and buses sold at a discounted rate to employees purchased by local companies.
The Go-To College Pass is a pass good for unlimited bus and train rides per semester in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area sold at a discounted rate to eligible college and university students. Participating schools include Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Anoka Technical College, Augsburg University, Aveda Institute, Bethel University, Century College, Concordia University, Dunwoody College of Technology, Hamline University, Hennepin Technical College, Inver Hills Community College, Macalester College, Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis Business College, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Normandale Community College, North Central University, North Hennepin Community College, Northwestern Health Sciences University, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, St. Catherine University, Saint Paul College and University of St. Thomas.
Hop Fastpass is a contactless smart card for public transit fare payment on most transit modes in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area including MAX Light Rail, WES commuter rail, Portland Streetcar, The Vine, and all TriMet and C-TRAN buses. An initial release to the general public began on July 5, 2017, with the official launch on July 17. The program is managed by TriMet.
Prior to the introduction of electronic payments on the network, paper tickets and passes were used by Portland-area transit agencies. The tickets needed to be validated at ticket validators on the Streetcar or at MAX and WES stations. They did not offer fare exchange or extension. Installation of Hop readers began in March 2015, and was completed by the end of 2016. A public beta began in February 2017. The system cost $35.9 million to install and test at the time of its public release.
The Hop Card uses ISO 14443-compliant RFID technology allowing the card to be read/written without direct contact. The card uses the NXP/Philips MIFARE DESFire EV1 256B. Hop Card readers can also read information from contactless bank cards and mobile wallets.
The card's initial design is an ISO 7810 standard-sized purple card, with the Hop logo, and the logos of the three participating transit agencies at the top, and a colored bar at the bottom. The colored bar indicates the type of card: purple for standard adult fares, green for "honored citizen" which includes seniors, low-income riders, and riders with disabilities, and orange for youth cards. Cards also have a hole punched in them for use with a lanyard.
The Hop name was chosen in September 2015, beating out other candidates, including 1Pass, Indigo, Umbrella, Via and Lynx, that were proposed in 2014. Its name references both rabbits and the hops used in craft beers brewed in Portland.
Hop cards can be purchased at any participating transit agencies' ticket offices, as well as local grocery and convenience stores.
The card must be tapped each time the system is entered or a transfer is made. It can be tapped on boarding a bus or streetcar, or tapped before boarding the light rail, commuter rail, or BRT. On tapping the card a display shows the time remaining on the current ticket or pass. It also displays any relevant low-balance alerts with an audible sound. There is no penalty for tapping the card more than once within the duration of a ticket. Unlike some systems, there is no need to tap out when leaving the system since fare is the same regardless of the point of exit.