USA: Mobile ticketing technology company Masabi is supplying Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority with what it says will be the USA’s first smartphone rail ticketing system.
Masabi is to provide iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps, back-end servers, payment integration and barcode validation software for onboard staff. A pilot will begin shortly, with full roll out expected later this year. It will be possible to link a monthly pass to a CharlieCard smartcard, allowing passengers to tap in instead of using magnetic tickets on metro and bus services.
Fewer than half of MBTA’s 140 commuter rail stations currently have ticket vending machines, with passengers paying onboard.
