The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in the US will start a month-long ‘beta’ test of its new smartphone ticketing app this week.
Around 150 beta testers have been selected out of over 1,500 applicants to be among the first to use the GlobeSherpa-developed mobile ticketing app on a multimodal transit system.
The app will enable riders to use a smartphone or computer to buy fares for individual rides or longer-term passes to ride buses, MAX trains, WES Commuter Rail and the Portland Streetcar. Passengers would be required to display their validated e-ticket to the bus driver or fare inspector.
According TriMet, the beta testers represent a cross section of riders based on demographics, type of mobile device and operating system, credit/debit card type, trip purpose, fare type, frequency of transit use and use of buses, trains or both.
Following the completion of the beta test, TriMet intends to launch the new mobile ticketing app to all its riders later in summer 2013 and it would be the first in the US to serve multiple modes of transport.
The TriMet Tickets mobile ticketing app is expected to save the agency money by reducing the operating cost associated with printed and cash fares.
