CARTA is set to launch its mobile payment system Monday, an official said, as Chattanooga public transit riders gain access to technology that has for years been commonplace in public transit systems nationwide and around the globe.
Riders will still be able to pay fare with cash. But when the new system activates, those who wish to pay with their smartphone will be able to do so through the Token Transit application. There, officials have said, riders will be able to make an account, enter payment information — with bank cards or via Cash App, for example — and purchase tickets, which they can activate and show to the driver upon boarding.
At a meeting this fall, a member of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority board of directors, praising the move, said the timeline of an alternative payment system was one of the top questions he gets from the public.
Bus operators are pleased too.
“Mobile ticketing will save a lot of time when passengers are boarding the bus versus passengers recharging passes once they board,” Lakecha Strickland, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1212, said in a text message this week. “We are extremely happy to move forward with this modern technology.”
–Riders can purchase a variety of passes, including one-way, 24-hour, 7 day, and 31 day passes
–Integrates with Cash App or other digital payment methods, like a bank card
–Enables sending bus passes to friends, family, or anyone else
–Riders can instantly activate passes on their mobile device, and display them to the driver using the app’s Visual Validation Tool
–Valid on fixed route, CARTA GO, and Care-a-Van buses
Under the long-established system, CARTA riders mainly pay fare — $1.50 for a single ride — with cash and coins, and they need exact change. The agency also sells unlimited daily, weekly and monthly passes, but some must be purchased at physical locations and none can be purchased online.
Change has been afoot. In one new policy, Chattanooga-area K-12 students can ride CARTA buses free through a special card available through the Chattanooga Public Library.
The new mobile payment system was, according to agency documents, initially expected to launch in November. Asked this week about the timeline, CARTA Chief of Staff Scott Wilson said the agency had not previously announced a specific launch date.
“The Dec. 16 rollout came after we wrapped up our QA process,” he in an email this week, using an acronym for quality assurance. “Getting all our fares into the system and the branding just right took some extra attention, and once everything was verified, that’s when we set Dec. 16 as our launch date.”
The change comes as CARTA CEO Charles Frazier, billed as a “change agent,” approaches his first anniversary on the job. He was hired by a board of directors that had also been largely overhauled, as part of a broader effort to improve Chattanooga’s public transportation system.
The mobile payment system was seen as a cheap and easy short term fix to a deeper problem of outdated fare boxes, officials said, since it required no new infrastructure. CARTA simply had to contract with a third-party software provider and train bus operators on the new system.
Frazier has said CARTA is also studying how to best improve its outdated fare boxes — including potentially eliminating fare boxes all together, as some cities have done.
In these cases, transit agencies generally rely on mobile payment technology of the sort CARTA is implementing, as well as ticket machines throughout the city, Frazier said. He said the change could improve on-time rates, since riders wouldn’t have to pay when they board.
Contact Andrew Schwartz at aschwartz@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.