Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) worked with City Go and Umo Mobility to launch the Valley Regional Transit's (VRT) City Go Wallet, making it easier to pay for transit around Boise, Idaho, and the Treasure Valley.
Cubic’s cloud-based technology powers the City Go Wallet, which centralizes and streamlines transit passes and services payments through the Umo Mobility app and the City Go Smartcard.
Community members, commuters and visitors who prefer to use their phones for transit can download the Umo Mobility app in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. In addition to making transit passes and fares easier to purchase, the app features an all-in-one service that includes trip planning, real-time bus route information and rideshare options through Lyft and Uber. The app will also integrate additional transit passes and services throughout the upcoming year, such as vanpool, shuttle service, parking, bikeshare and scooters.
Similarly, individuals who prefer to use a reloadable smartcard can purchase one at any of VRT’s Customer Service windows in Boise, Meridian or Caldwell. Once purchased, individuals can manage their accounts through the City Go Wallet website. Here, they can purchase additional passes, load stored value and set up automatic reload of a set monetary amount. Individuals can also register their cards, ensuring that stored value is protected and transferrable to another card if lost or stolen.
“We’re incredibly excited for this day. When we established City Go, we envisioned an integrated fare-payment system that would elevate transportation in Boise and beyond by making it easier for people to get to the places they want to go,” said Kaite Justice, director of City Go. “Now, we have that system, and we cannot wait to see it improve connectivity across all communities in the Treasure Valley.”
The integrated fare payment system also introduces fare capping. Whether a person uses the app or smartcard when boarding a bus, the system keeps track of each person’s ride throughout the day and month. Daily fare capping is activated once a person completes two trips in a single day, allowing that person to take any additional trips that day at no cost. Similarly, monthly fare capping is activated once a person uses the equivalent of a 31-day pass over a calendar month. Each day a person uses their pass after that, there are no additional costs for trips for the rest of the calendar month.
The new, integrated fare payment system emerged from a two-year partnership between VRT and CTS.
“Through our combined efforts, we’ve delivered a platform that not only enhances transportation access but also improves equity through improved accessibility and features like fare-capping,” said Arturo Santamaria, program manager for Cubic Transportation System. “And with Cubic’s dedicated support, Boise and the Treasure Valley have provided a world-class transportation system for their customers.”