Transit app launches Montreal’s First Mobile Fare Solution for ARTM

Transit is launching a new single-ride bus fare from the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), the Montreal region’s public transit governing authority.

The fare, which includes free transfers during a 120-minute period, is valid on Montreal-area buses operated by the four regional transit agencies: exo, RTL, STL, and STM. The mobile ticketing option in Transit is delivered with Masabi, the company bringing Fare-Payments-as-a-Service (FPaaS) to public transit. It marks the first time Montreal transit riders can pay for trips using a mobile phone and allows Montrealers to purchase bus fares and BIXI bikeshare passes using a single Transit Account.

The new mobile bus fare was created by the ARTM in just a matter of months in response to the coronavirus crisis. The new solution gives passengers a payment method that uses visual validation to reduce contact with bus drivers.

Transit’s mobile ticketing integration, already live for two dozen transit agencies across North America, is now available to Transit’s more than 220,000 monthly users across the Montreal region, who rely on the app during the pandemic. The ticketing integration in Montreal is powered by Masabi’s Justride SDK, a mobile ticketing software development kit (SDK) for public transportation. Transit and Masabi have previously worked together to bring mobile ticketing to transit riders in St. Catharines, Ontario, as well as Las Vegas, Denver, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

The new bus fare is also integrated into Transit Accounts, introducing “mobility-as-a-service” to Montreal so riders can purchase a bus-to-bikeshare trip in a single, universal app. Users can not only plan a multimodal trip using the app’s Transit+ feature, they can now also purchase a bus fare from the ARTM, then seamlessly buy a connecting BIXI bikeshare ride with just an extra tap — no extra apps or accounts required.

Originally posted on Metro Magazine