New York’s MTA Metro-North Railroad is following the footsteps of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and soon will pilot a mobile application that will enable commuters to buy train tickets using iPhone, Android, and Blackberry handsets. And like the MBTA, the MTA is partnering with Masabi US Ltd.
During the pilot, select users will be able to download the free mobile app to their iPhone, Android or BlackBerry device. Using the app, consumers can buy any type of ticket, one-way, round trip, 10-trip or monthly.
The time and date stamped electronic ticket shows up on a consumer’s mobile screen as a secure image that a conductor can validate visually. Additionally, the electronic ticket also shows as a bar code that can be scanned by a conductor’s hand held device to verify that the bar code is valid.
As Mercator Advisory Group discussed in April regarding the MBTA’s plans, merchants of all kinds are beginning to leverage consumers’ investment in expensive smartphones. Masabi’s app solves rail ticketing challenges as many stations do have gates, turnstiles or the ability to purchase tickets from a machine or agent.
