A test of an open transit payment card along a 14-mile commuter rail line near Philadelphia also will gauge the effectiveness of post-paying for transit rides.
An unspecified number of commuters using the Port Authority Transit Corp. system will test a bank-issued, reloadable prepaid card containing a contactless chip over the next six months that they also may use for retail purchases, according to Cubic Corp., which is providing the upgrades (
The transit agency already offers a proprietary contactless smart card, dubbed Freedom, but it is considering evaluating a move to an open scheme, San Diego-based Cubic says.
The first six months of the test introduces a branded card issued by Wilmington, Del.-based The Bancorp Bank that consumers may use to pay for transit rides and for retail purchases. Bancorp did not respond to an inquiry about which card brand would support the card by PaymentsSource deadline.
During the second six months of the test, consumers will be able to use any contactless card issued by a bank, Cubic says.
One big change in the open scheme is that the fare collections will happen when transactions settle, not when the commuter enters, a Cubic spokesperson tells PaymentsSource. Freedom transactions settle immediately at the turnstile.
In the open scheme, a contactless reader communicates with the chip on the branded card, and the authority sends the transaction data to an account-based system that determines the fare.
Port Authority Transit and Cubic have several factors to consider during this yearlong test. “There are operational-risk considerations, customer convenience and customer service considerations, and considerations about the cost of the transactions,” the spokesperson says. “The new account-based processing systems have to provide flexibility to perform tradeoffs between these things.”
An open scheme also will require some technical changes, Cubic says.
Cubic will have to update the contactless readers at the gate so they are compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and Port Authority Transit will have to open the network to enable other issuers to process the bankcard data, the spokesperson says.
Cubic is paying for the upgrades, while the authority is providing operational support, installation and maintenance support, co-branding rights and advertising space, she says. Cubic and Bancorp have agreed to an “equitable arrangement to help offset the cost of the pilot,” the spokesperson says.
Consumers using the new prepaid card will pay no fees for loading the card or for using it solely as a transit payment card, Cubic says. Outside of Port Authority Transit’s system, consumers may pay fees for services such as bill pay, ATM withdrawals and other services, Cubic says.
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