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Cleveland transit partners for digital fare collection
With their Transit account, GCRTA riders can use a single app to also pay their fare in Columbus, Dayton, and more than 65 cities across the US and Canada, as well as access bikeshare and other integrated services.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) has introduced all-in-one ticketing solution for in-app trip planning, real-time vehicle tracking, simple fare management, and reduced boarding times.
GCRTA has joined EZfare, the fare platform used by 14 transit agencies across the region, and is promoting EZfare mobile payment in the Transit app, GCRTA’s official app.
Mobile ticketing
By launching mobile ticketing in the app that thousands of GCRTA riders use to get around every day, GCRTA said it is making it simpler for riders to travel across its entire system and beyond.
Transit with EZfare replaced GCRTA’s RTA CLE app and is now the agency’s official app for purchasing fare media, real-time trip planning, paying fares, and vehicle tracking.
GCRTA riders also get a free subscription to Transit Royale, which offers additional app features that make riding GCRTA easier and more appealing. Fare media is also available in the EZfare app, as well as through ridesharing apps Uber and Moovit, allowing customers to purchase fares anytime, anywhere, in whichever app they prefer.
Riders will be able to purchase and use fare media such as single ride, all-day, seven-day or monthly passes and reduced fares directly from their mobile device.
According to GCRTA, its launching of Transit with EZfare delivers enhanced regional connectivity and ease of use for Cuyahoga County and Northeast Ohio riders.
“Regional travel can quickly lose its allure when several tickets and passes across multiple agencies are involved – Transit with EZfare solves this”
GCRTA riders can now purchase fare media for adjacent systems such as Laketran, Parta, Sarta, Metro and Medina County Public Transit (MCPT) in the same app. In total, riders can use the services of 13 other transit agencies across Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.
The new system is powered by fare payments-as-a-service provider Masabi, and has been enabled using Masabi’s Justride platform, in collaboration with NEORide (a tri-state council of governments, comprising 19 transit systems from across all three states dedicated to the development and promotion of regional public transportation services.
With their Transit account, GCRTA riders can use a single app to also pay their fare in Columbus, Dayton, and more than 65 cities across the US and Canada, as well as access bikeshare and other integrated services.
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GCRTA said it is committed to increasing fare equity by making this service available to all riders including the unbanked and underbanked with a retail distribution network of more than 230 retail locations throughout Northeast Ohio, made possible by InComm Payments’ VanillaDirect.
Riders who prefer to use cash can visit one of the many participating retail locations or GCRTA’s customer service centre at Tower City to add funds to their EZfare or Transit Account to buy fares.
“The reality of modern transit is that we need to create offerings which reflect our customers’ needs”
Additionally, GCRTA will be installing electronic validators on its HealthLine vehicles as well as its entire bus and train fleets. Electronic validators will enable riders to scan their fare displayed on their mobile device when boarding, simplifying the process and cutting down time on-boarding, making riding public transit in Cleveland, and across Ohio, easier and more convenient.
“The reality of modern transit is that we need to create offerings which reflect our customers’ needs. Regional travel can quickly lose its allure when several tickets and passes across multiple agencies are involved – Transit with EZfare solves this, consolidating unnecessary extra steps into one ticket in the Transit app to travel across Northeast Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky,” said India Birdsong, general manager and chief executive officer, GCRTA.
“We are thrilled to use technology to improve customer experience and fare equity as we continue our efforts to connect the community.”
In the future, GCRTA said it plans to introduce account-based ticketing, smartcards, and fare capping. Then, no matter how many trips a rider makes throughout a given day or rolling period, they will not pay more than the price of a daily or monthly pass -- prioritising equity and rewarding passengers the more they travel.
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How does the Transit app integrate fare payment across multiple transit agencies?What benefits does EZfare mobile payment provide to GCRTA riders?How will electronic validators improve boarding times on GCRTA vehicles?In what ways does the new system support unbanked and underbanked riders?What future features will account-based ticketing and fare capping offer?ClevelandColumbusCuyahoga CountyDaytonGCRTAGreater Cleveland Regional Transit AuthorityKentuckyMasabiMichiganmobilitymobility-as-a-serviceNEORideOhioRailRoadTransport hubs
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