New Jersey Transit fares increased by 15 percent on Monday, but a new fare payment system using ticket validators on buses began rolling out this spring.
How well is it working?
Informal testing by NJ Advance Media showed that bus ticket validators worked less than half the time when passengers tried to scan digital tickets from NJ Transit’s mobile app onto their devices to pay their fares.
New System Launched on April 6th When NJ Transit began requiring bus riders to scan QR codes on their paper or digital tickets, riders can also pay their fares by tapping their chip-enabled credit or debit cards on validators, the program launched in October. There was no change for riders who pay with cash.
Previously, passengers would show a digital ticket activated on their smartphone or hand a paper ticket to the bus driver.
“NJ Transit and contract carrier buses operate approximately 2,457 vehicles, and every bus in the system is equipped with on-board verification devices,” NJ Transit spokesman John Chartier said.
It seems pretty easy: The activated digital ticket also displays a diagram on how to scan the ticket with the QR code facing up, and NJ Transit’s website also has an instructional video on how to use the bus validator.
But the new fare collection devices are not perfect.
During informal road tests conducted by NJ Advance Media on 25 NJ Transit buses in local and New York City locations in May and June, the on-board validator failed to activate 14 times. The validator correctly scanned a digital ticket on a smartphone 11 times, causing the validator’s screen to turn green, confirming that the ticket had been scanned and the fare had been paid.
All tickets used in the test were mobile tickets from the NJ Transit smartphone app.
“We are working closely with both our fare collection vendor and our bus operations and maintenance teams to address any issues that arise as we continue to implement new technology that will ultimately improve the customer experience,” Chartier said.
In the 14 cases where the validators didn’t work, it was up to the bus driver to take action, such as asking for a mobile phone ticket or manually registering the fare payment.
“It doesn’t always work,” said one bus driver who tried several times to get the ticket inspector on the No. 87 bus to read the ticket from a mobile app. Another driver had posted a handwritten halt sign on the machine to alert passengers.
If the validation devices fail, Chartier said, bus operators will process mobile and paper tickets just as they did before the machines were installed: Paper tickets will be collected and mobile tickets will be visually inspected, he said.
One of the purposes of using the validator is to reduce the time it takes to board a bus. The only difference is that at the Port Authority Bus Terminal during rush hour, NJ Transit employees will pre-scan tickets to reduce boarding time to the bus.
“NJTA anticipates that riders will save time when paying for rides with contactless payments rather than cash on board,” Chartier said. “Travel times will be essentially the same when scanning a mobile ticket and a paper ticket compared to when a rider visually presents a ticket to the driver.”
If the validator cannot read the card used for a tap-and-go payment, the passenger will be required to use an alternative payment method.
“Since the launch of the customer contactless payment program, the number of in-vehicle validators on exchange is less than 5%,” he said.
The validators are part of a larger $117 million contract awarded to Conduent Transport Solutions in December 2017 to bring NJ Transit’s fare collection system into the 21st century. The work includes the development of a tap-and-go payment system and NJ Transit’s own fare cards, as well as the replacement of ticket vending machines.
That contract was renewed for another five years in April.
Chartier said both the on-board and platform verifiers are under warranty, so there will be no replacement costs for NJDOT.
Light rail uses a slightly different system: As well as the old validators used to timestamp paper tickets, light rail uses new validators on its platforms that can also be used to scan paper or digital tickets and tap credit or debit cards with a chip.
Some riders have reported the issue on social media.
“When a customer is asked to show proof of payment, they simply show the fare enforcement officer their contactless card that has been tapped against the platform’s validator,” Chartier said. “The enforcement officer will then have the customer tap that contactless card against a mobile validation device, and the enforcement officer validating the fare will be provided with the transaction information of when and where the initial contactless tap occurred.”
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Larry Higgs can be contacted at Email: lhiggs@njadvancemedia.comFollow him on .X Rally on the way to work
