Rochester RTS partners with Masabi to launch contactless fare payments

Rochester Regional Transit Service (RTS), in partnership with Masabi, launched open payments across the Rochester RTS network. Riders can now pay for transit fares with the tap of a contactless Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card, or with a mobile wallet like Apple Pay or Google Wallet with no pre-registration required. Passengers will still automatically receive the fare capping benefits for RTS Connect rides.

“This exciting innovation as an added form of fare payment is a game-changer for current and potential customers,” said Rochester RTS CEO Miguel Velázquez. “The goal is to make it as easy and seamless as possible for customers to pay to ride the bus. Hopefully this becomes one less worry for those who say they never carry cash or don’t know how to buy a fare in order to try public transit.”

The launch of open payments furthers the relation between Rochester RTS and Masabi. The partnership has already yielded the implementation of account-based ticketing (ABT) in November 2020, as well as the Rochester RTS Go smartcard and RTS Go mobile app.

Fare capping will remain at $1 per ride, with no more than $3 charged per day and $56 per month. Riders can link their preferred payment methods to a transit account, giving them access to trip history, entitlement-based pricing and other account-based benefits.

“This launch continues RTS’s leadership in fare innovation, building on the agency’s early adoption of [ABT],” said Masabi CEO Brian Zanghi. “Now with open payments, we’re delivering on the promise of a fully integrated fare system that’s easier to use and more equitable for everyone. We’re proud to help RTS make transit more convenient, efficient and rider-friendly.”

Masabi’s platform supports contactless credit and debit cards and mobile wallet payments, as well as smart cards, barcodes, mobile tickets and cash from a single back office. The open payments module offers transit agencies concession support via account linking, portable L3 certification, open APIs for full data access and flexibility over acquiring models and Merchant of Record setup.