The open payment system delivered by Cubic Transportation Systems to the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) commuter rail system that runs from New Jersey to Philadelphia was featured at the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council Meeting, nearly one year after launch.
The annual gathering of public transportation executives and industry technology suppliers, sponsored in part by Cubic, includes two days of presentations and roundtable discussions on the trends in fare payment that are driving new fare collection system implementations. Cubic is the leading integrator of payment and information technology and services for intelligent travel solutions.
In 2011, PATCO partnered with Cubic to create one of the world's first open payment programs for public transit. The system accepts the four major card brands – American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa – in any contactless form, whether a plastic bank card or a virtual card in an NFC-enabled smart phone wallet, as well as accepting the first transit-agency branded, contactless Visa prepaid card in the world. That prepaid payment card, the Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Card, debuted on September 26, 2011, and was among one of the first times that consumers had been able to use the same transit payment card for both transit and retail purchases at any retailer that accepts debit or credit payments.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the transit services operator for Philadelphia and surrounding counties and PATCO's regional partner, is hosting the Transportation Council Meeting.
