Contactless payments is coming to Connecticut's buses starting with the Meriden and Middlefield lines officials announced Tuesday.
The new card readers will be implemented on River Valley Transit and CTtransit's Meriden division buses as part of a pilot for the new Tap and Ride program from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The 43 new readers will allow riders the ability to pay fare by tapping their debit or credit cards, smart devices, or mobile wallet. The readers no longer require patrons to sign up for a rider card or pay with cash, though those options will remain available. Visa and Mastercard are the only two cards accepted at this time, officials said.
"I think it's important to recognize the need for this technology, not only in retail services in other parts of our economy, but also on the bus line," said Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati.
While the same smart readers are implemented on a smaller scale in cities across the nation, this marks the first step in what the state aims to be the first statewide effort to implement the contactless fare technology across all their bus routes. The Meriden line is the pilot for the program, with the state collecting data and rider input that they will develop into an assessment plan during the first quarter of next year.
The contactless payments can only be found, for now, on routes 561, 563, 564, 565, 566, and 567.
Tap and Ride caps fees so that riders won't pay more than a single or 31-day pass, officials said.
Riders are charged $1.75 for the first ride of the day. All subsequent rides will be free for the next two hours. If they ride again that day after those two hours, they will be charged another $1.75. Day fares cap at $3.50 and last for 24-hour periods from the first tap. The 31-day fares cap at $52.50 for the allotted 31-day period.
The system requires no sign ups or downloads for an app or third-party service. Officials said the program is designed to make the experience as seamless as possible for riders of all backgrounds while eliminating the necessity to worry about having bus cards or other potential restrictions that may prevent people from considering using the bus.
Data collected from the DOT found that more than 75 percent of riders wanted contactless technology on buses, though it was also found that 11 percent of riders didn't have a credit card or bank account. To facilitate connecting those people with getting a bank account, DOT partnered with BankOn to provide an online resource for banking options for those who might consider them.
Scarpati noted Meriden has been working with the state on significant investments in reinforcing its transportation network over the last several years, in both expanding its bus lines and constructing a new train platform along the Meriden Green.
"I think this is yet again one way that we're listening to the riders, it's an easier way to allow someone to get on a bus ... From here then we start to build a system that, starting here in Meriden, we can reach the rest of the state. So it's exciting to see."
Officials received a $2 million U.S. Department of Transportation Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grant to implement the first stage of the program, with further funding available in the future.
The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021 under President Joe Biden, which has so far seen $80 billion in investment to date in public infrastructure nationwide.
This is not the only change that DOT has implemented in recent months for the bus lines, having extended hours and adding additional stops to routes between New Haven, Wallingford, and Meriden to meet rider demand.
Currently the contactless technology is implemented in 5 percent of the fleet, but should it be successful officials stated that the remainder of the buses would follow in the remaining years.
"It represents continuous innovation as well as the step forward in making our public transportation system more efficient and user friendly to all customers and residents," said Connecticut Department of Transportation Bureau Chief of Public Transportation Benjamin Limmer. "This project reflects our commitment to really embracing all technology options and improving the overall customer experience throughout the state."
U.S. Department of Transportation representatives said they hoped that it would encourage more people to take public transit, further reducing traffic and emissions with the safer system that they anticipated would also reduce rates on riders in the long term and keep them affordable for everyone.
"This is a trend that the state of Connecticut is at the forefront of," said Ben Levine, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"By leveraging payments technologies, by leveraging the power of our smartphones and the power of our credit cards and debit cards, we really have the opportunity to change transportation for the better by leveraging technology," he said. "And of course, that's a change that cannot be left to the whims of the market. It needs to be well stewarded by agencies like Connecticut Transit to ensure that inclusion and enfranchisement are core to those activities."
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