Millions of riders in the U.S. have relied on taking public transit to get to and from work, go shopping, visit friends and family members, or visit the doctor’s office, but during the pandemic, transit ridership took a major hit. Now, as cities begin to reopen, passengers are starting to get back on buses, trains and ferries — and public transit will play a critical role in recovery. As such, transit agencies in the U.S. and around the world are looking for ways to offer riders the best and safest possible travel experiences — and contactless payments can be an important part of that. With more than 300M contactless cards in market in the U.S.,¹ more consumers are now paying for things they need with a simple and secure tap. In fact, in the U.S., one in 10 face-to-face Visa transactions are now made with a tap, more than a 2x increase since the beginning of the pandemic.² Transit agencies in Chicago, Miami, New York and Portland, OR have already implemented the safety, ease and security of tapping to pay for their riders, and Visa research shows that enabling tap to pay on transit systems like these can be good for economic recovery, bringing more than a 15 percent lift in transactions from merchants in surrounding neighborhoods.²
Now Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) will be the first transit agency in California to accept contactless payments with Visa for their bus riders, eliminating the need to purchase or load a separate transit card ahead of time or handle cash while boarding.
MST’s General Manager Carl Sedoryk recently spoke to us about the importance of public transit recovery and the role contactless payments can play in improving the urban mobility experience.
What excites you most about the work MST and Visa are collectively accomplishing with this new initiative?
Sedoryk: Transit can be difficult to use when compared to other modes of travel. Outdated fare collection systems have not made our job any easier. The model we are working on with Visa allows a customer to use the same card, or mobile device, that they used to buy a coffee to also pay for their rides on public transit. If we can provide a seamless payment experience for riders across mobility modes, including fixed route bus, microtransit, ADA paratransit, and subsidized taxi cabs, we can make our services more attractive.
We’re now over a year into the pandemic in the U.S. What types of challenges has the pandemic posed to your organization and the transit riders you serve?
Sedoryk: Success for transit operators historically has been achieved when there are no seats left, and there is standing room only. The pandemic forced us to think differently about the safety of our coach operators and passengers, as well as examine how we achieve specific social outcomes with our services. The pandemic showed us who in our communities are most dependent upon transit to make essential trips for work, grocery shopping and medical appointments. We are reexamining our routes, service frequency and fare structures to ensure that those who need our services the most have access to mobility to reach their essential destinations.
