September-October 2022 - 37

mobility while generating essential
revenue in three ways:
* It puts the capabilities needed for
a targeted approach within the
reach of every agency. Affordable
cloud-hosted fare technology
can be scaled to the needs of any
agency. Today's fare-collection-asa-service
approach means vendors
and agencies are active partners
throughout the system's service
life. Enhanced capabilities are
continually introduced in response
to evolving technology
and market demand and made
available to participating agencies.
* It enables agencies to understand
their communities. The detailed
data recorded for every fare transaction
and event, combined with
the robust analytical and data
visualization tools provided by
modern systems, enables agencies
to gain a much better understanding
of their customers.
Genfare
When larger transit agencies
weigh the advantages of fare collection
against the claimed benefits of
fare-free operation, they will choose
to pursue transit equity within their
existing revenue framework.
What is the Best
Way to Achieve
Equitable Mobility?
The best way to achieve equitable
mobility is to improve service while
optimizing fares to meet specific
community needs through fare
discounts for low-income riders
and fare capping.
Riders value on-time performance,
service frequency and
convenient locations more than a
free ride. This is as true for transit-dependent
riders as it is for
choice riders.
A modern fare collection system
provides the tools transit
agencies need to attain equitable
Lowincome
riders
represent
more
than
35 percent of
transit riders
and are harder
hit by transit
costs than
choice riders.
* It lets agencies accept any payment
medium riders have in
their pockets. Coupled with affordable
technology and detailed
knowledge of the communities
they serve, this means transit
providers can deliver fare solutions
tailored to the needs of all
of their riders, including those
with limited resources.
Here are ways fare collection
technology can promote equitable
mobility while supporting other
important transit goals:
* Creating fare solutions adapted
to the needs of different rider
groups. For example, eligible
low-income riders can be provided
with a personalized fare card
at little or no charge that they can
reload periodically with targeted
reduced-fare products using cash
or, if the agency chooses, they can
ride for free. To avoid requiring
applicants to travel to a distant
location, agency staff can hold
pop-up enrollment events at community
centers, public libraries or
community events using portable
card production equipment.
* Onboard acceptance of cash,
the one fare medium readily
available to all, is of continuing
importance. Some transit riders
- many of them minorities protected
under Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 - lack the bank
accounts and/or smart phones
needed for electronic payment.
For the foreseeable future, transit
agencies will need to continue to
accept cash.
* Offboard cash acceptance enables
riders to add value to their fare
cards using cash at a ticket vending
machine, an agency ticket office or
retail sales agent equipped with a
point of sale terminal. A partnership
with a third-party provider
that sells agency-branded fare
cards and other preloaded cards
at in-store kiosks provides another
way for riders to pay with cash.
* Fare capping allows riders to limit
their total fare spend based on
daily or monthly fare pass maximums.
Fare capping can be either
card-based, account-based
or both.
* Low-cost media for social service
organizations. Transit agencies
have long sold or given lowcost
fare cards to social service
agencies for distribution to their
clients. With the aid of sophisticated
back office systems, transit
operators can provide social service
agencies with an online portal
to make it easier for them to
deliver low-cost media efficiently.
* Contactless payment cards for
the unbanked. Open payment
technology enables fare equipment
to read " tap and go " credit
and debit cards. Contactless cards
configured as reloadable gift
cards are expected to be widely
available through retailers,
where unbanked riders can buy
and recharge them using cash.
In addition, the cards are likely
to be adopted by public agencies
distributing unemployment or
public assistance payments. That
means unbanked riders will be
able to pay for transit using a card
just as choice riders do.
* Employer transit benefits, in
which businesses enable their
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 37
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September-October 2022

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