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Apple Pay Coming to Transit Systems in Philadelphia, San Diego, Boston, and More Cities Between 2020-2023

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Transit agencies in major cities like London, New York, and Washington, D.C. have recently rolled out support for or expanded availability of Apple Pay for contactless fare payment using an iPhone or Apple Watch.

apple-pay-transit-reader-800x441.jpg

Given this trend, MacRumors reached out to transit agencies in additional cities across North America to inquire about their Apple Pay plans:
  • Philadelphia: SEPTA plans to start supporting Apple Pay and mobile ticketing next year. The rollout may begin as early as the second quarter of 2020, but the timeline is not firm yet.
  • Boston: MBTA says Apple Pay with Express Transit mode will be piloted in 2022 and rolled out widely in 2023. This will include CharlieCard fare card integration in the Wallet app.
  • San Diego: SDMTS plans to begin implementing a new fare payment system in late 2020 with support for mobile wallets like Apple Pay. No plans for Compass Card integration in the Wallet app at this time.
  • Toronto: Metrolinx says it is working toward initiating a limited pilot program to test out new forms of payment in 2020. In April 2018, Metrolinx reportedly said riders would be able to pay their fare by tapping their smartphone against a PRESTO reader in "far less than five years."
  • Montréal: STM plans to support Apple Pay around 2022-2023 for credit cards, but not the OPUS fare card.
We'll update this list if any other transit agencies respond.

Apple Pay with Express Transit mode allows for tap-and-go payment, eliminating the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. The device does not need to be waked or unlocked, either.

Article Link: Apple Pay Coming to Transit Systems in Philadelphia, San Diego, Boston, and More Cities Between 2020-2023
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/12/16/apple-pay-transit-plans-boston-philadelphia-more/
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As far as Boston goes, the MBTA just cancelled their automatic fare collection 2.0 system, and the entire contract will have to be renegotiated or ditched. So if we even have a pilot of any sort by 2022, I’ll eat my hat.

As much as I’d love this and want it yesterday, we have far more pressing priorities; such as the old trains falling apart, the new trains falling apart, stations on fire, the third rail igniting if a trash rat even looks at it, elevators out of service, anything with wheels derailing with regularity, anything without wheels also derailing with regularity, a carrier-pigeon based signaling system from the 1890s, and a state government that’d rather rebuild seven stretches of highway before even deigning to tangentially acknowledge our public transportation crisis.
 
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moiety said:
As far as Boston goes, the MBTA just cancelled their automatic fare collection 2.0 system, and the entire contract will have to be renegotiated or ditched. So if we even have a pilot of any sort by 2022, I’ll eat my hat.

As much as I’d love this and want it yesterday, we have far more pressing priorities; such as the old trains falling apart, the new trains falling apart, stations on fire, the third rail igniting if a trash rat even looks at it, elevators out of service, anything with wheels derailing with regularity, anything without wheels also derailing with regularity, a carrier-pigeon based signaling system from the 1890s, and a state government that’d rather rebuild seven stretches of highway before even deigning to tangentially acknowledge our public transportation crisis.
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Here's a presentation I was linked to:

https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2019-12/2019-12-09-fmcb-F-fare-transformation.pdf
 
moiety said:
As far as Boston goes, the MBTA just cancelled their automatic fare collection 2.0 system, and the entire contract will have to be renegotiated or ditched. So if we even have a pilot of any sort by 2022, I’ll eat my hat.

As much as I’d love this and want it yesterday, we have far more pressing priorities; such as the old trains falling apart, the new trains falling apart, stations on fire, the third rail igniting if a trash rat even looks at it, elevators out of service, anything with wheels derailing with regularity, anything without wheels also derailing with regularity, a carrier-pigeon based signaling system from the 1890s, and a state government that’d rather rebuild seven stretches of highway before even deigning to tangentially acknowledge our public transportation crisis.
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Is it because Cubic is expensive and a ripoff? S&B seems to be fine just needs software upgrades. They can support it easily by allowing CharlieCards right in Apple Pay, and an app that lets you reload with the virtual card - like DC is doing. No need for the fancy credit card one until they can afford it.

also S&B is used in Phoenix and Toronto and these systems are getting upgraded not ripped out like Cubic wants.
 
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moiety said:
As much as I’d love this and want it yesterday, we have far more pressing priorities; such as the old trains falling apart, the new trains falling apart, stations on fire, the third rail igniting if a trash rat even looks at it, elevators out of service, anything with wheels derailing with regularity, anything without wheels also derailing with regularity, a carrier-pigeon based signaling system from the 1890s, and a state government that’d rather rebuild seven stretches of highway before even deigning to tangentially acknowledge our public transportation crisis.
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The thing is fare collection is an expense. The point of these contactless card systems is so that the transit system doesn't need to spend (as much) money making and distributing cards and disposable tickets, accounting and auditing, collecting and handling cash, etc. Making the experience faster means less fare gates and queuing meaning less space for stations which can be a huge capital and operational expense savings.

Ultimately, this money is freed up for other improvements.

Transit systems also are doing this because they can push risk and capital expenditures to vendors like Cubic, i.e. we pay a fixed price of $x per year, or you take y% of all fares collected. If x and y are lower than current costs, it's low-hanging fruit.
 
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I got a message from Chicago's Ventra payment system last month asking me to make sure I have the latest version of iOS installed because "Exciting new improvements are coming to the Ventra app and we want to make sure that your mobile devices are prepared to take full advantage of these new enhancements."

Considering that the current version of the Ventra app has completely failed to even launch without freezing since iOS 13 came out, and that earlier this year Chicago announced that Ventra would support Express Transit before the end of the year, I'm thinking this means Express Transit is about to debut.
 
When I email Clipper (San Francisco Bay Area transit card used for all busses/trains) when Apple Pay/Apple Wallet will be coming I got this reply:

We are Clipper card and you can purchase Clipper card at many different retailers, if you can use Apple Wallet at one of those retailers you can purchase Clipper cards and add value onto the Clipper card there. In order to see the different locations where you can purchase a Clipper card you can go to our website at www.clippercard.com and look up retailers. I hope this information is helpful for you to be able to use your Apple Wallet for your transit needs. Also, we do not deal with ticket sales of the individual transit systems that would be a question for whatever transit you are interested in.
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They clearly have absolutely no clue about technology, which is very frustrating being in one of the biggest tech hubs in the world.
 
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Must admit have started using my phone now since that allowed express transit, works much quicker now you don't have to double click, face rec then show your phone to the reader.....now you just show your phone to the reader.....much quicker. My only concern with it if someone can somehow hijack the access to your card as you are doing this
 
konqerror said:
The thing is fare collection is an expense. The point of these contactless card systems is so that the transit system doesn't need to spend (as much) money making and distributing cards and disposable tickets, accounting and auditing, collecting and handling cash, etc. Making the experience faster means less fare gates and queuing meaning less space for stations which can be a huge capital and operational expense savings.

Ultimately, this money is freed up for other improvements.

Transit systems also are doing this because they can push risk and capital expenditures to vendors like Cubic, i.e. we pay a fixed price of $x per year, or you take y% of all fares collected. If x and y are lower than current costs, it's low-hanging fruit.
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You don’t understand. Logic doesn’t prevail with the MBTA. It simply dies a lonely death.
 
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fullfast said:
Must admit have started using my phone now since that allowed express transit, works much quicker now you don't have to double click, face rec then show your phone to the reader.....now you just show your phone to the reader.....much quicker. My only concern with it if someone can somehow hijack the access to your card as you are doing this
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This isn’t possible because express transit only works with an Apple approved transit system. Someone couldn’t just walk up to you can hold something up to your pocket and charge you money.
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I don’t understand why some of these transit systems aren’t making the effort to integrate their own fare cards into the Apple Wallet. By not doing so they are essentially saying we only want tourists to be able to use Apple Pay since most locals will have a discounted/unlimited pass that they use instead of paying per ride.
 
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Really?!? I live in the Philadelphia area. SEPTA will be lucky if they get ApplePay implemented by the turn of the century.

SEPTA is a bloated and inept bureaucracy. They couldn't even handle electronic parking payments at their regional rail stations and reverted back to coin slots from the 1960s.

Good luck!
 
Jared Strike said:
When I email Clipper (San Francisco Bay Area transit card used for all busses/trains) when Apple Pay/Apple Wallet will be coming I got this reply:



They clearly have absolutely no clue about technology, which is very frustrating being in one of the biggest tech hubs in the world.
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Lol I’m chuckling at this response., of course it isn’t about using Apple Pay to buy a clipper card
 
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Welp, as a Toronto resident, I can’t see myself making much use of it. By the time it really rolls out here, I’ll be priced out and will have to move to a small town somewhere. Already the average rent for a one bedroom apartment is over double what I’m paying under rent control.
 
You've been able to use Android devices instead of the Myki card in Melbourne for a year. To my knowledge they've made no indication of when iPhone support is coming, if at all. It's utterly ridiculous that it's not yet supported. Let's go Apple!
 
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