September-October 2022 - 40

Open for All:
The Modular Route to
Contactless Open Loop
Fare Payments
Monterey-Salinas Transit
MONTEREY SALINAS-TRANSIT launched tap-to-pay on its system in May 2021.
Modular components
that can be integrated
within systems
are providing
transit agencies
of all sizes a more
flexible option to
leverage contactless
payments.
By Adam McGavock,
contributor
T
ransit agencies around the world are
starting to see an alternative to single
vendor contracts when procuring fare
collection systems. Modular components,
supplied by specialist vendors
and integrated within an open architecture,
are emerging as a faster, less
expensive and more flexible option.
Design and Build Options
Until recently, the market for providing
automated fare payments was dominated
by big fare collection system vendors.
Once contracted, they entered long-term
relationships with customers, managing
the entire project throughout the design,
build, operate and maintain phases. These
projects are typically built to detailed
specifications, can take years to deploy
and can include associated costs that can
prove prohibitive to smaller agencies.
While it can be reassuring to have only
one vendor to engage with, agencies are
locked into contracts for many years, and
modernization can become a challenge.
40 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
The transit industry has looked to
other sectors for an example of a more
agile solution. Modular systems, the norm
in retail payments for decades, provide
a faster, more cost-effective approach,
which can be replicated for fare collection.
An Alternative Model
Transit operators and agencies of all sizes
are choosing to buy solutions for contactless
fare payments in a number of lots,
which plug-and-play together through
open APIs. This means they engage several
vendors who are best in class in a
specialist area, such as device hardware,
payments processing and merchant services.
With tried and tested integrations
and standard contracts, a contactless
EMV pilot or roll-out can be managed
in weeks.
Where the single supplier model can
be highly constrained, the modular alternative
allows greater flexibility. If an agency
prefers a particular payment reader, the
option to use it remains. Interoperability,

http://www.MassTransitmag.com

September-October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September-October 2022

Editor’s Notebook
People & Places
Employee Initiative Drives Growth and Success at C-TRAN
Paving the Road for Zero-Emission Bus Fleets
Rail Trespassing Prevention: Cameras Provide Unblinking Eye
Achieving Equitable Mobility
Open for All: The Modular Route to Contactless Open Loop Fare Payments
Innovating to Address Rising Passenger Expectations
Products
September-October 2022 - 1
September-October 2022 - 2
September-October 2022 - 3
September-October 2022 - 4
September-October 2022 - 5
September-October 2022 - Editor’s Notebook
September-October 2022 - 7
September-October 2022 - People & Places
September-October 2022 - 9
September-October 2022 - 10
September-October 2022 - 11
September-October 2022 - 12
September-October 2022 - 13
September-October 2022 - Employee Initiative Drives Growth and Success at C-TRAN
September-October 2022 - 15
September-October 2022 - 16
September-October 2022 - 17
September-October 2022 - 18
September-October 2022 - 19
September-October 2022 - 20
September-October 2022 - 21
September-October 2022 - Paving the Road for Zero-Emission Bus Fleets
September-October 2022 - 23
September-October 2022 - 24
September-October 2022 - 25
September-October 2022 - 26
September-October 2022 - 27
September-October 2022 - 28
September-October 2022 - 29
September-October 2022 - Rail Trespassing Prevention: Cameras Provide Unblinking Eye
September-October 2022 - 31
September-October 2022 - 32
September-October 2022 - 33
September-October 2022 - 34
September-October 2022 - 35
September-October 2022 - Achieving Equitable Mobility
September-October 2022 - 37
September-October 2022 - 38
September-October 2022 - 39
September-October 2022 - Open for All: The Modular Route to Contactless Open Loop Fare Payments
September-October 2022 - 41
September-October 2022 - 42
September-October 2022 - 43
September-October 2022 - 44
September-October 2022 - 45
September-October 2022 - Innovating to Address Rising Passenger Expectations
September-October 2022 - 47
September-October 2022 - Products
September-October 2022 - 49
September-October 2022 - 50
September-October 2022 - 51
September-October 2022 - 52
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