Toscana trams and buses go contactless
ITALY: Kuba has rolled out an open-loop fare payment system covering the Firenze tramway and bus services in Toscana, saying it is the largest deployment of its kind in Europe covering 273 cities and towns.
Virtual reality to help people use public transport
BRAZIL: The Alstom Foundation and Instituto Jô Clemente have launched a Virtual Reality for Inclusion initiative which aims to help people with disabilities overcome accessibility obstacles and use urban public transport safely.
Train windows become information screens
SOUTH KOREA: An eight-car trainset operating on Seoul Great Train Express Line A has been equipped with 55 inch Transparent OLED displays which act as both windows and information screens.
Asian tourists expected to benefit as Roma expands contactless fare payment options
ITALY: Contactless cards issued by Japan’s JCB and China’s UnionPay and linked mobile devices can now be used to pay for travel on Roma’s transport network, building on the open loop payment system which was already available to holders of Mastercard, Visa and American Express cards.
Stockholm metro traffic management systems to be renewed
SWEDEN: Greater Stockholm transport administration SL has awarded Cactus Rail a €35m contract to replace the traffic management systems on the capital’s Red and Blue metro lines and provide 25 years of support.
Cubic to upgrade ticketing in the Twin Cities
USA: Metro Transit has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a contract to upgrade the fare payment system in Minneapolis-St Paul to enable the use of contactless bank cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Milano transport operator targets French market
FRANCE: Executive Director Arrigo Giana tells Metro Report International about Milano transport operator ATM’s plans for international expansion.
More payment options as NJ Transit ticketing contract renewed
USA: New Jersey’s NJ Transit has renewed Conduent Transportation’s contactless fare collection systems contract for a further five years.
Facial recognition ticketing to be expanded
RUSSIA: Moskva Metro reports that 100 million trips have now been made using biometric payment, with the Russian-made system having ‘proven its utmost security and reliability’ and further deployment planned.
Orléans open payment system goes live
FRANCE: Orléans Métropole has launched an open payment ticketing system on its tram and bus services, deployed by its long-standing ticketing technology partner Kuba in partnership with La Banque Postale.
Chicago Transit Authority launches first Innovation Studio challenges
USA: Chicago Transit Authority has launched its Innovation Studio project to partner with the private sector to explore new ideas.
Moskva Mayor plans driverless trams
RUSSIA: Moskva Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced ambitions to deploy smart technologies by 2030 to make the public transport network more reliable and the preferred option for mobility within the city.