Open payment, open standards are in WMATA’s future

In the last post in this series, we examined the history of the Metrorail fare collection system. Today, we’ll explore open standard and open payment — two recent innovations which have played a big part in the design of WMATA’s next-generation fare collection system.

Open standards make it possible for a transit authority to use fare collection equipment from multiple vendors without worrying about compatibility, while open payment enables riders to use payment cards and devices they already have, such as contactless credit cards and even smartphones, to pay their fares.

When modern automatic fare collection systems were first introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, there were few industry standards, if any. However, as there were also very few vendors who were able to deliver such systems, standardization was not much of a concern. Integrating with neighboring transit agencies wasn’t an issue, either, since so few transit authorities had adopted any sort of automatic fare collection.

But the market has grown substantially in the past few decades. These days, transit agencies don’t want to be locked into a single vendor. Instead, they want to be able to buy some of their faregates from one manufacturer, and some from another. And, they want them to see those faregates work with ticket vending machines from yet another supplier.

Open standards, like ISO 24014 and the ITSO specification, enable this kind of interoperability. By using open standards, transit authorities can procure fare collection equipment from multiple vendors and rely on it to work together seamlessly.

The use of open standards also enables better cooperation between neighboring transit authorities, even if they use fare collection equipment from different manufacturers. Existing regional smart cards for transit, like SmarTrip, TAP, and the ORCA card, have required all of the participating transit agencies to use the same equipment, from the same manufacturer.

By contrast, with open standards, riders can use the same ticket or smart card to pay their fare on multiple transit authorities as long as their fare collection systems adhere to relevant standards, regardless of manufacturer. In addition to the convenience of having a single card for fare payment, this enables benefits for riders like discounted transfers between transit systems.

Open payment represents another major shift in thinking for transit authorities. Historically, transit authorities have been the sole suppliers of what is known in the industry as ‘fare media’—that is, the token, ticket, or smart card you use to pay your fare. While you may be able to reload your smart card or buy tokens at a location that is not directly controlled by the transit authority (such as a convenience store), ultimately the transit authority is responsible for supplying the fare media, no matter where you might buy it.

Open payment changes that. Open payment systems make use of smart cards and similar devices that riders already have, rather than requiring them to use a card dedicated to a specific transit authority (like New York’s MetroCard or the SmarTrip card). In an open payment system, riders can use existing contactless credit and debit cards (like MasterCard PayPass, Visa payWave, American Express ExpressPay, and Discover Zip) to pay their fare directly, by tapping the card on a faregate or bus farebox.

Other contactless smart cards, such as university, government, and corporate IDs, and even some smartphones, can also be used by open payment systems, as well, allowing transit users to pay their fare using cards and devices they already carry. In addition to providing a new level of convenience to riders, open payment systems enable transit agencies to spend less distributing fare media, because more riders will opt to use personal cards and devices, rather than relying on fare media provided by the transportation authority.

However, not all riders may have a contactless credit or debit card, or other smart card, that they can use to pay their fare. For most transit agencies which are looking to adopt open payment (including WMATA), the solution is to continue to distribute some type of prepaid card (similar to the existing SmarTrip card). While many riders will choose to use a contactless credit or debit card, the prepaid card will remain an option for users who prefer a more traditional way to pay for their trips.

Together, open standards and open payment reduce the cost of a fare collection system and increase flexibility for transit authorities and riders. With these two innovations in place, transit authorities no longer have to worry about the vendors of proprietary equipment going out of business or making a system uneconomical to maintain. Instead, they can take advantage of a growing marketplace of innovative, interoperable solutions. These solutions give riders new, more convenient ways to pay their fare, and they allow transit agencies to create new programs like frequent rider rewards and cross-promotions with local merchants.