Public transit is evolving, and fare collection is at the center of this transformation. While many systems initially relied on prepaid smartcards to replace cash, today’s mobile and contactless payment solutions support lower dwell times, reduced cash handling, and data-driven service planning. These digital methods simplify how riders pay while giving transit agencies greater visibility into system performance, fare compliance, and ridership behavior. Platforms like OpenFar

Public transit is evolving, and so are rider expectations. Today’s passengers demand convenient, contactless payment options  that match the ease of everyday retail transactions. Yet many transit systems still rely on legacy fare collection methods that slow boarding, increase operational cost, and limit revenue visibility. Open payment systems — which let riders tap contactless bank cards or digital wallets directly at fare gates or on‑board validators — are emerging as a st

Near the bridge at Oksu Station, a pilot site for Seoul Metro’s tagless fare system. Seoul Metro is one of the busiest subway systems in the world, carrying an average of 6.6 million passengers daily  on its core Lines 1–8 — nearly twice the ridership of New York City’s subway, which serves about 3.4 million riders per day . Seoul's population density is 45,000 people per square mile , compared with New York’s 29,000 people per square mile. Despite this high volume, Seoul Met

Fare evasion had become a pressing challenge at several LA Metro stations, with non-paying riders frequently outnumbering paying customers. This growing imbalance underscored the urgent need for a more secure and efficient fare collection system.   STraffic secured $26 million in contracts to modernize the system, replacing 20-year-old faregates that were no longer effective and lacked integration with modern payment technologies. Each of LA Metro’s 21 stations presented uniq

Transforming BART’s Fare Evasion Challenge into an Opportunity for Innovation Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a critical transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area, faced growing challenges with fare evasion, outdated infrastructure, and safety concerns that affected operations and rider confidence. Fare evasion alone accounted for an estimated $25 million in annual losses, largely due to outdated fare gates that were easy to bypass. BART’s new fare gates built for stre

Read about how we eliminated 80% of fare evasion at WMATA