Latest news with #publictransit
CBC
17 hours ago
- CBC
Would you take the bus to Bell Island? Metro-area mayors want your input
Several communities along Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula coast are banding together to explore creating their own public transit system. The municipalities that make up the Killick Coast — Torbay, Bauline, Flatrock, Bell Island, Pouch Cove, Portugal Cove–St. Philip's, and Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove — have launched a feasibility study into the proposed project. "The main focus is going to be about connecting our communities together in this area," Torbay Mayor Craig Scott told CBC. Scott says residents of his town have historically expressed interest in a public transit system. The town even explored joining the Metrobus system, which serves St. John's, Mount Pearl and Paradise areas, but that didn't make financial sense at the time. Scott says Torbay is now exploring a public transit system in tandem with the metro-area municipalities, however. "It has to be a partnership between everyone if it's going to work," he said. But a project of that size, he adds, requires public input about what people are willing to pay and what routes they're interested in having. There's an online survey available for people to fill out and copies in participating town offices, he said, as well as upcoming public information sessions. "It's crucial that we understand exactly what type of system that our residents need. This is not meant to be something that's gonna probably bring people back and forth to work. It's more about connecting our communities together and connecting us to the City of St. John's Metrobus system," said Scott. He added the feedback they get will also influence how long it could take to roll out a public transit system. "The stronger the case we have, and the interest that we have from residents, the more likely that that will move forward quickly," he said.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why The Push For Open-Loop Payments In Transit Could Backfire
Miroslav Katsarov is the CEO of Modeshift, a technology company bringing intelligent transportation to small- and mid-size transit agencies. Open-loop payments have emerged as a high-profile trend in the modernization of public transit. This approach allows riders to purchase fares using their existing credit or debit cards and mobile wallets, eliminating the need for separate transit cards or apps. The result is a streamlined fare collection process, alongside a more convenient and user-friendly experience. While the technology's appeal may seem attractive to policymakers and the public, it's essential to recognize its shortcomings in certain areas. Fare collection involves more than just choosing a payment method. Careful consideration is required regarding how a system integrates with existing infrastructure, its ability to accommodate various payment types and how it handles data and revenue. Attempting to oversimplify a complex system can lead to costly and inflexible outcomes. True innovation in fare collection occurs when creating responsive, adaptable systems that meet user needs, rather than enforcing adoption based on new trends and technology. Why Open-Loop Is Not A One-Size-Fits-All Solution Open-loop payment systems offer several key benefits to transit agencies. They can help lower costs associated with issuing and managing transit cards and tickets. Fewer components in the payment system mean less maintenance is required, leading to additional cost savings and increased operational efficiency. Riders benefit from purchasing fares through various payment platforms, smart devices and bank-issued cards. Passing through gates is faster; they simply have to tap a card or scan a mobile phone at the terminal. There's no need to purchase tickets or carry change. However, neglecting to consider factors such as flexible fare structures and user base could lead to open-loop payment projects being unsuccessful. In Budapest, Hungary, over 70% of riders use monthly passes that open-loop does not support, and were pressured to adopt open-loop payments, despite it not being practical. The city faced numerous challenges in implementing open-loop, with the majority of riders still preferring to use cash or a digital wallet. This highlights a critical point: Transit technology that ignores existing user behavior is destined to fail, regardless of how modern or sleek it may be. When Pressure Overrides Product Strategy Open-loop payments are important, but pushing them as a replacement for other fare media is shortsighted. They can serve as an enhancement to existing fare collection systems, offering additional payment options. Agencies are being politically or publicly pressured into adopting open-loop without considering their rider base, operations or revenue structure. The smarter path forward is a flexible, account-based system that supports both open- and closed-loop payments to meet the needs of riders while future-proofing infrastructure. There's a common myth regarding agencies being a merchant of record (MoR). The reality is that it's no different from the transactions they already handle. When an agency takes on the role of MoR, it becomes recognizable to the cardholder as the merchant that has sold them goods or services. This decreases requests for chargebacks. A direct relationship with the payment processor also means agencies can negotiate better deals. Another issue arises when agencies attempt to offer discretionary discounts to eligible riders, like seniors. Bank cards can be used to apply discretionary discounts, but it adds another level of complexity. Since discretionary discounts imply a closed-loop process, agencies could have riders undergo a registration process. This way, the system will know who to assign these discounts to. The other option is to introduce white-label EMV cards that mimic the functions of a bank card, although this can be very costly. The bottom line is that leaders need to advocate for what works, not just what markets well. Digital Equity And Behavioral Reality A sizable portion of transit riders are unbanked (4%) or underbanked (9%). While many are open to switching to prepaid cards or smartphones, forcing open-loop systems without alternatives risks leaving behind the most vulnerable populations. Not every rider prefers to tap a card, and they won't be inclined to regardless of what technology is introduced. Frequent riders gravitate toward fare products that offer value and predictability, like discounted monthly or daily passes. Furthermore, when presented with other options, such as QR codes and mobile ticketing, many would prefer those over a bank card. Open-loop systems lack support for more flexible fare structures unless layered with complex eligibility processes or closed-loop add-ons. Technology must be built with inclusivity in mind from day one. Tech leaders should be wise to focus on developing solutions that prioritize this, collaborating with cities and transit authorities to establish responsive, future-proof technology. Adoption happens when tools reflect how users already think and behave. Complex tech must serve simple, human needs. The Case For Flexible, Account-Based Systems For transit agencies, the best approach would be to have an account-based ticketing system capable of facilitating both open-loop and closed-loop processes. ABT systems allow for EMV card payments, QR codes, mobile tickets and closed-loop cards. In this instance, tokens become the core mechanism, which enables true backend flexibility. Such systems are built for flexibility due to their ability to adapt to a range of front-end formats while standardizing the backend. Account-based systems ensure that unbanked users, mobile-limited users or digitally hesitant customers are not excluded from using transit services. Improved sustainability, reduced cash handling and enhanced UX are also among the benefits of using an ABT system. In Conclusion Open-loop payments have value, but only when they're used in the right context. Transit technology succeeds when it's built around how people live and work, solving basic mobility issues as opposed to quickly deploying new tech and tools. Public leaders and transit authorities need to ask the hard questions before buying into trends. This means taking into account the existing rider base and who might be excluded from using the technology. A payment system based on open-loop could prevent certain people from using transport services. What public transit needs are flexible, scalable and inclusive systems, capable of аdapting to future challenges as well as shifts in population's behavior. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Google Maps for Android has developed an annoying public transit bug
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Public transit routes are buggy on Google Maps It seems to be affecting some but not all users Google hasn't yet made any comment on the issue Millions of us rely on Google Maps to get from A to B every day, so when something goes wrong with the app it can cause a serious headache – as seems to have happened with a new bug that affects searching for public transit directions. As noted by Android Police, a lengthy thread on Reddit documents the experiences of many users who are seeing the Google Maps app for Android crash when they search for public transit directions to a direction. It's difficult to assess just how widespread the problem is at the moment: the Android Police team was able to replicate the bug on one of their phones, but it's not an issue I'm seeing on my own Google Pixel 9 at the moment. What's certain is that it's frustrating for those people who are seeing it, leaving them unable to use Google Maps to plot a route to their destination. As yet, Google hasn't said anything officially about the problem or a potential fix. What you can try With no word from Google yet – and I'll update this article if there is – users are really left sitting and waiting for a fix. It sounds as though the issue has hit multiple Android phones, including those made by Google, Samsung, and Poco. From the Reddit thread, it seems that putting Google Maps into incognito mode might help. You can do this by tapping your Google account avatar inside the app (top right), then choosing Turn on Incognito mode from the menu. This apparently fixes the problem, though your searches and journeys obviously won't be saved in your Google account. It also suggests that the problem might be something to do with the way Google Maps is syncing to accounts. It might also be worth your while checking out some of the alternative public transit apps available on Android, such as Citymapper and Moovit. There's also Apple Maps too of course, but this bug doesn't seem to affect Google Maps for iOS. You might also like Some Garmin watches get a Google Maps upgrade 10 things you didn't know Google Maps could do Google Maps gets key upgrades for routes and AI
New York Times
4 days ago
- New York Times
New York Is Planning a Train Line to Connect Its Transit Deserts. We Walked All 14 Miles of It.
Subways, buses and highways were meant to make movement faster and more convenient, but, in this country, it's often incredibly difficult to travel by public transit. Even those major cities thought of as interconnected webs of subway lines and bus stops can possess vast transit deserts that can keep communities segregated. Without easy connections, two parts of the same place can feel more like distant planets than neighborhoods just a handful of miles apart. In New York City, outer Brooklyn and outer Queens might as well be in different universes from each other. The city has a plan to change that: a light rail line that would repurpose freight tracks to make travel from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, take about 40 minutes and connect 17 different subway lines. Whether the train will even be built at all depends in part on revenue from the city's embattled congestion pricing plan. But, if realized, the Interborough Express, IBX for short, has the potential to bring together people who might otherwise never come in contact with one another. The possibility of connecting all these places, though, feels more like an abstraction. For people like me and the photographer Tom Wilson, who live at opposite ends of the proposed route, the space that separates us feels especially unnavigable. So we set out to walk the entirety of the future line, all 14 miles of it, to see the neighborhoods it would link and meet the people who live in them. If the IBX ever arrives, what would happen to the space that keeps us apart? We met in a parking lot behind the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, and set off east with the sun in our eyes, beginning a 20-mile walk that would trace the rails as closely as possible while sticking to surface roads. By 8:37 a.m., we had already reached Eighth Avenue — one of the 19 proposed IBX stops and the heart of Sunset Park's Chinatown. Food carts lining the sidewalks offered grilled meat and noodles. We waded through slow-moving passers-by and workers unloading crates of vegetables. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Community groups, riders calling on Pittsburgh Regional Transit to pause proposed service cuts
The conversation around Pittsburgh Regional Transit's proposed service cuts is heating up, with community groups and riders calling PRT to make a pause on the cuts. With 35% of PRT service on the chopping block and critical state funding stalled in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the clock is ticking. On Thursday, around two dozen riders and groups, including 412 Justice, Bike Pittsburgh and Lawrenceville United, joined together to call for a delay in the cuts, which are currently scheduled to take effect in February 2026. "These kinds of catastrophic cuts cannot happen, particularly when there is a runway to winning on a state level," said Laura Chu Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. Wiens and others urged PRT to tap into its limited reserves and postpone the cuts until October, giving advocates and legislators more time to secure a funding solution. "We are calling on PRT to use some of their limited reserves, knowing this is not a long-term solution and postpone these consequences until October," Wiens added. If implemented, the proposed service changes would significantly reshape transit access in the region. Forty-one bus routes would be eliminated, 54 routes would be reduced, the Silver Line would be discontinued, an 11 p.m. curfew would be implemented system-wide and fare price increases would take effect. For many riders, that means a daily struggle to get to work, school and appointments. "It's very stressful. It makes me disappointed that it comes down to this," said Kristen Greene, a PRT rider. "You would think transit would be the No. 1 priority." "It's important to everybody to have these buses not be cut. Maybe reduced, but not cut," said Linda Warman, PRT rider. While PRT leadership has not committed to a delay, they acknowledged it remains a possibility, though not without tradeoffs. "Every delay has a consequence," said Katharine Kelleman, CEO of PRT. "The longer we wait, the harder the landing. We can push off cuts, but that shortens how long we can survive or makes the nature of what we must cut more draconian when it happens." Advocates also called on PRT to release a cost estimate and plan to transition Allegheny Go into a full zero-fare system. "It's a boon to PRT," Wiens said. "It will help grow ridership and provide fare relief in a time when costs are rising dramatically across all sorts of basic needs." PRT says any decision to delay service cuts likely won't come until at least September.
