Norfolk, VA – Mobile ticketing – a cashless way to ride public transit – is coming to the VB Wave Trolleys in July.
In a pilot program, Hampton Roads Transit will for the first time offer trolley customers a way to buy tickets using only their smart phones. This will allow them to skip using cash to buy paper tickets.
Using a smart phone application allows customers to skip lines or the search for a place to buy paper tickets. Multiple passes can also be stored on one phone. That will make it easier for families and friends traveling together.
Customers simply create an account on their cell phones, purchase the number of tickets they need, and then have them validated upon boarding.
“We have been working toward this important milestone for many years and are proud to begin rolling it out this year,” said William Harrell, president and CEO of HRT. “Our long-term goal is to make mobile ticketing systemwide and ease the way customers interact with all our buses, light rail and ferry services.”
Customers can continue to purchase and use paper tickets at any authorized outlet. A one-way adult fare on the VB Wave is $2. A discounted fare, applied to seniors over 65 and Medicare card holders, is $1. Children 17 and under ride for free with paying adult. The fare is the same for mobile tickets.
The pilot program will be available first on the 14 trolleys operating under the VB Wave brand at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Route 30 and Route 31 will be implemented first.
The mobile application and back-office management system is being powered by moovel, of Portland, OR, under a $292,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation
HRT eventually hopes to transition its entire fare collection systems to mobile ticketing to improve the experience and accessibility for riders. Doing so also would help HRT educes fare collection costs and overhead. Mobile ticketing allows customers to purchase tickets whenever and wherever they want, making it easier to ride.
For more information on transit services, visit gohrt.com
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