Innovative E-Fare System for Trimet in Portland Innovative E-Fare

Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon

Innovative e-fare Systemsystem forin Portland-Vancouver TriMet in Portland Metropolitan Area

When it comes to cutting-edge technology, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) rises to the top as one of the most progressive TriMet / C-TRAN / C-VAN / agencies in the country. Perhaps that is why they Portland Streetcar chose INIT as their partner to supply and implement First-ever virtual transit fare card a regional, multi-media e-fare system in the Portland- Open payment Vancouver metropolitan area. Multi-client structure

Region-wide project

Integrated ITS & e-fare systems Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon

Integrated and innovative e-fare system in Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area.

TriMet has a reputation for being a thought leader in The task innovative ideas for public transit. In 2005, TriMet was the first agency in the world to release data to the public for the Implementing a state-of-the-art electronic fare system is development of third-party transit apps. This action challenging – even for innovators. The project required a prompted numerous other transit districts across the solution that would seamlessly integrate with TriMet’s country to open their data to developers as well. existing ITS system and infrastructure, and have multi- client capability. This aspect was needed for integrating the When the agency went out for bid for an advanced fleet C-TRAN and Portland Streetcar for a region-wide e-fare management and real-time passenger information system structure within the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. in 2009, INIT’s Intermodal Transport Control System (ITCS) won out as the most modern and flexible solution. The most important requirement of the e-fare system project was the necessity for a comprehensive back-office system After the success of that project, the agency marked another that could define individual agency parameters, automate milestone by becoming the first in the US to implement clearing of revenues and secure individual fare and revenue mobile ticketing across bus and rail. The mobile ticketing data. The TriMet-led project also required implementation of launch was followed in 2014 by the contract with INIT for the an open payments fare structure so passengers could use implementation of an open payments and smart card e-fare debit/credit cards and account-based smart cards. system.

In 2017, the Hop Fastpass® e-fare system was successfully launched. A few short months afterwards, another milestone was announced. Through a partnership with Google, TriMet beta launched the world‘s first account-based regional virtual We are excited to extend the transit fare card within Google Pay™. Since 2019, many benefits of the Hop Fastpass® additions were made to the system, including the ability to pay through Android Pay™, Apple Pay®, and Samsung Pay®. to our paratransit customers. No-touch payments are In 2020, the Clark County Public Transit Benefit Area (C-TRAN) paratransit service, C-VAN, was added to the system, allowing safe, easy and efficient for riders to enjoy safer accessibility to transit through contactless everyone. tap-and-go fares. In the future, smaller surrounding agencies can be easily added to experience all the benefits of a best-in- class fare collection system without the high cost of setup or Shawn M. Donaghy, long-term project management. CEO, C-TRAN smart cards,smart mobile tickets, bank cards and phones. NFC PROXmobil all forms supports ofmobile payment including smartphone. a within storedsecurely card fare transit virtual ever first the and cards, smart account-based wallets, smartphone as well as debit cards, and credit contactless of use for the structure fare payment open an of implementation the included project e-fare TriMet the of The scope system. integrated one fully into requirements ITS of range complete the combines that provider ITS only the is INIT because project e-fare the to implement INIT chose TriMet solution. e-fare robust vendors for afully third-party 12 more than incorporated and media fare their to purchase outlets retail with passengers connecting of task the ease helped approach architecture open This parties. third of integration for easy (API) Interfaces Programming Application Open using built to be had The project Hop Fastpass ® e-fare system

© TriMet clearing of revenues are securely performed. securely revenues of are clearing automated system, Fastpass® Hop bi-state multi-agency, the For sharing. revenue and recognition, revenue revenue, sophisticated management revenue, of earned deferred de revenue package strong This systems. accounting existing the into integration convenient provides software accounting off-the-shelf to multiple interface of The ease performed. transaction every and for each to account is focus main its system, afinancial as designed is MOBILEvario Since anyplace. and anytime information account up-to-date and accurate get riders back-office, the against performed are transactions all Since real-time. in rider to the result validation fare the displays and account, office back the against transaction the validates fare, the calculates MOBILEvario validators, PROXmobil INIT 1,100 the of to any device their taps arider When project. the of core intelligence the as serves MOBILEvario, system, back-end processing INIT’s accounts. own more their over control passengers giving and at stops, times boarding improving handling, cash of costs the reducing by efficiencies operational increase systems Account-based reissued. and blocked be simply can it or stolen, lost is card the If processed. are calculations fare subsequent and information personal where account to arider’s linked is card the systems, account-based With riders. their and stakeholders transit the regional for it provides security and flexibility the of because system account-based an chose TriMet 1 2 3 system regional transit agencies transit regional states livers livers

The Hop Fastpass® system was designed following an open architecture approach. Thanks to this open design, more than a dozen partners associated with the project were integrated without changes to the core system. These partners included retail outlets, payment service providers, mobile and web applications, as well as third party suppliers.

Fare capping

With the Hop system, TriMet instituted fare capping – a structure which automatically offers riders the lowest possible fare for their journeys. For example, once the equivalent of a day pass is earned – normally after two trips in a day – the rider will not pay for the third or subsequent trips no matter how many times they ride. The same is true for the cost of a monthly pass. Fare capping relieves the rider of having to figure out the “right” fare, provides peace of mind that they are not paying too much, and delivers incentive and accessibility to all passengers. The TriMet Open Architecture System

The conclusion

Fare capping introduces As TriMet continues to blaze new trails in public transit, the an equity-based incentive Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area will reap the advantages. Riders will benefit from more convenience and to frequent transit use. It pricing equity, as well as the opportunity to easily use eliminates the burdensome contactless bank and smart cards, and mobile phones to pay fares. The result is a smoother and more economically upfront cost of purchasing managed transit network, increased mobility and better monthly passes, replacing it transportation services. As a result of the e-fare project, TriMet is now the first US-based customer to benefit from a with smart, hassle-free, pay- fully integrated operations management, real-time passenger as-you-go infrastructure. information and e-fare system from INIT.

Rhyan Schaub, Director of Fare Revenue and Administrative Services, TriMet The project at a glance

TASK TRI-COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT OF OREGON Implement EMV and account-based smart card electronic fare system Fully integrated ITCS, RTPI and e-fare system Integrate with existing ITS system and infrastructure 1 st ever virtual transit card Provide a comprehensive back-office clearing and processing system 800 fixed route buses Deliver Open Application Programming Interfaces (API) and third-party system 1,100 proximity fare readers integration Ensure multi-client capability for extension to 3 transportation providers other agencies

1 comprehensive back-end processing software SOLUTION

1 million smart cards Fully integrated fleet management, real-time passenger information and electronic fare collection system

ABOUT TRIMET BENEFITS TriMet provides bus, light rail, and commuter rail service in the Portland metro area. Their Better operational management through integrated transportation options connect people with their operations and fare management structure community, while easing traffic congestion and More fare payment options through smart cards, reducing air pollution – making the region a better mobile tickets, bank cards and NFC phones place to live. Greater security and pricing equity for passengers Incorporated functionality with driver terminals and fare processing If you would like to know more about this project and featured INIT products, please contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

More than 700 customers worldwide rely on our integrated solutions to support them with their daily tasks Planning & Dispatching Ticketing & Fare Management Operations Control & Real-Time Passenger Information Analyzing & Optimizing Moreover, public transit agencies can also master all requirements of electromobility and set up a single sign-on mobility platform using our integrated solutions. A robust package of operational services completes the INIT offer.

INIT is the worldwide leading supplier of integrated ITS, planning, dispatching and fare collection systems for buses and trains. For more than 35 years, we have been assisting public transit agencies in making public transit faster, safer and more efficient.

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