fare | National Center for Sustainable Transportation

All Aboard! Easier Transit Travel with Standardized Payments

Principal Investigator Susan Pike, Ph.D.
University of California, Davis

This research examines the potential for the adoption of a standardized fare payment system throughout California’s transit operators; to better serve their customers and provide seamless trip-planning and payment.

Project Status

Complete

All Aboard! Easier Transit Travel with Standardized Payments

Research Product Type

Research Report

This study explores interest in, and the challenges faced by transit agencies and operators in the adoption of open-loop payment systems.

Dataset: Transit agencies want open payments but there are challenges

Research Product Type

Data

This includes data used in the project, "All Aboard! Easier Transit Travel with Standardized Payments". The data was collected from California transit agencies in the fall of 2022 that gathered information about agency perceptions of open-loop payments and the challenges with adopting open fare collection systems, and whether assistance programs would benefit transit agencies interested in adopting open-loop payments.

Open to Open-Loop: Payments Challenges for Public Transit

Research Product Type

Associated Publication

The researchers evaluate interest in assistance programs aimed at alleviating some of the challenges transit agencies face in implementing open-loop payments.

Photograph of an OMNY tap-and-go fare payment system

Webinar: Opportunities for Improving Transit Travel Through Standardized Payments

In this webinar, Dr. Susie Pike, Director of the Transit Research Center at UC Davis, shed light on the challenges facing small to medium transit agencies in the transition of California’s transit systems to open-loop payment systems, and some of the opportunities that may make adoption of these systems more feasible.

Youth Cruz Free: Bus Ridership Behavior Among Santa Cruz County Teens

Principal Investigator Susan Pike, Ph.D.
University of California, Davis

This project will investigate the effectiveness of the Youth Cruz Free pilot fare-free program by Santa Cruz Metro through a longitudinal study of travel behavior among high school age teenagers. The outcomes of this study will provide Santa Cruz Metro with a direct understanding of the impacts of the pilot program, and will be useful for transit agencies and policy makers considering larger scale free transit for youth and other groups.

Project Status

In Progress