INIT Showcases Core Structure of Open Payments Project at APTA Expo

The launch of the Hop Fastpass electronic fare system marked the beginning of a new era in public transit. For the first time, transit riders within the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area were able to take full advantage of an account-based fare collection system that incorporated Open Payment options. The three local public transit agencies, TriMet, C-TRAN, and Portland Streetcar, partnered for the system implemented by INIT. With over 1m taps to date, the system is considered a huge success. INIT will showcase MOBILEvario, the core of the Hop Fastpass system, in booth #2803 at APTA EXPO.

MOBILEvario addresses 3 main challenges of today’s electronic fare system requirements.                     

Real-time transaction processing

Many electronic fare systems can verify that a rider’s card has a positive balance, but cannot determine in real-time the exact fare to be charged. MOBILEvario, however, manages calculation and fare processing in real-time. That means when riders tap their contactless Hop Card on a validator, MOBILEvario calculates the fare, validates the transaction against the back office account and displays the remaining balance to the rider in less than 500 ms. For riders, this means instant and accurate account management at all times. For agencies, real-time processing greatly increases the efficiency of revenue operations. 

Open API’s

The key to a successful electronic fare system implementation is providing an open architecture design for the integration of 3rd parties. This means API’s are designed at a functional level, not for a specific partner or project. This allows easy integration of new partners, even the ones not thought of during the system design phase. For the Hop Fastpass project, INIT provided open APIs serving more than a dozen integration projects.

Financial system integration

Since MOBILEvario is designed as a financial system, the main focus of the system is to account for each and every transaction performed. Interfaces to multiple off-the shelf accounting software allows easy integration of the fare collection system into the accounting system most familiar to the agency. This strong revenue package means sophisticated management of earned revenue, deferred revenue, revenue recognition and revenue sharing. With multi-agency systems, this is especially important for the automated clearing of revenues. 

INIT’s newly launched electronic fare system in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area covers three agencies in two states and more than five modes of transportation in the Metropolis.

To learn more about MOBILEvario or the Hop Fastpass project, visit booth # 2803 during the APTA Expo on October 9-11, 2017.