The app includes a mobile ticketing feature that allows users to purchase fares in advance and to display their fares on their smartphone as proof of payment. A screen with a unique, animated image that can’t be replicated or used after time has expired indicates a valid fare.
The app also includes some of Metro Transit’s most popular trip planning features.
“The need to have a Go-To Card or the right amount of money ready to board is a challenge for new or infrequent riders,” Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb said. “Mobile ticketing eliminates that barrier, allowing people to buy and use fares in real-time.”
The app will be available in iOS and Android formats and was developed in partnership with Portland, Oregon-based moovel. It is free to download.
“moovel is excited to provide an intuitive mobile ticketing application that allows passengers to see real-time departure information and purchase tickets with just a few taps on their phone," moovel CEO Nat Parker said. “Designed to incorporate leading edge electronic payment technologies to make transit use more convenient for customers, the system will provide Metro Transit with a more efficient and secure fare collection platform.”
Metro Transit’s app responds to the growing use of smartphones to access transportation services. Nearly three out of every four visits to Metro Transit’s websites are from mobile devices and 16 percent of fares are purchased online.
Customers can also purchase fares at Metro Transit’s Service Centers, rail and rapid bus station and at bus fareboxes. More than half of Metro Transit’s fares are now paid with a stored-value Go-To Card or other automatic fare payment option.
“Mobile ticketing is one of many ways to pay a fare, but it’s one that we believe will move transit up on the list of options people consider when choosing how to get around,” Lamb said.
