Enghouse Transportation offers an AFC Solution Guide for transit agencies

Author: Ana Stanca

Demand Generation Leader, Enghouse Transportation

Making the transition from legacy Closed-Loop to contactless Open-Loop systems

As public transit agencies across the globe shift into a post-pandemic mode, they are faced with several daunting challenges:

Recover lost ridership – The Washington, D.C.-based Eno Center for Transportation reports that major transit systems in the U.S. are operating at anywhere from 30 to 70 percent of their pre-pandemic ridership levels.
Adapt to public health concerns – The Covid-19 pandemic has created a sea change in the way customers want to interact in payment venues.
Moving away from legacy fare collection payment systems and adopting state-of-the art EMV payment methods – Newer Open-Loop contactless payment systems are offering advantages and efficiencies for both transit riders and public transit agencies. A June 2021 Future of Urban Mobility survey conducted by Wakefield Research of 9,000 transit riders found that 88 percent of those surveyed expect to be able to pay with a tap on trains and buses. The survey report says there are more than 700 U.S. transit projects underway that include the introduction of contactless tap-and-go payment methods.
Accounting for the permanency of work-from-home options for U.S. workers – American companies continue to grapple with the long-term implications of the remote work phenomenon that emerged during the pandemic. Experts say remote work and a hybrid of remote and in-office work is here to stay. The trend has obvious repercussions for public transit.

In our Solution Guide, “What to Look For in an Automated Fare Collection Solution,” we documents the 7 Essential Features of an AFC Solution.

Here are some of them:

Fast Passenger Transaction Speeds – Tap-and-go solutions are not only the most convenient payment method for passengers, but they also increase boarding speeds and reduce dwell times. This increased speed and efficiency helps improve overall transit system performance, enhanced customer satisfaction and decreased environmental impact due to idling.
A Modular, Open-Architecture Ecosystem – An automated fare collection system has multiple moving parts, including the acquirer, payment acceptance devices, and the transit processor. Choosing a modular, open-architecture structure ensures that components will work together seamlessly, and individual components are interchangeable. Such a system is future-proof, allowing for technology upgrades as agency needs evolve.
Processing Power and Scalability – IT systems today must be backed by a trusted, powerful cloud platform that can process transactions securely and scale when necessary to meet growing demand. With a distributed cloud-based architecture, high peak activities will not slow the system.
Fraud Protection for the Agency – When a card or NFT transaction “bounces” because of insufficient funds, the payment system must be able to place that rider’s account on a deny list, refusing future boardings. With this system, riders will be required to pay outstanding debts before returning to ridership.