Butler County Regional Transit Authority Becomes Fourth EZfare Agency to Launch Account-Based Ticketing

Transit agency will benefit from improved rider experience and enhanced fare equity

 

New York, NY – Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 – NEORide, the Council of Governments representing 29 transit agencies across seven states, together with Masabi, the company delivering Fare Payments-as-a-Service through its open platform Justride, and Transit, the trip planning app partnered with more than 100 transit agencies, today announced the launch of Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) for Butler County Regional Transit Authority. BCRTA is the primary provider of mass transportation in Butler County, Ohio. The agency is a part of EZfare, the largest regional fare payment solution in the United States today used by transit agencies across Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

From today, BCRTA riders on the Cincylink and BGo services can simply scan the EZfare app when boarding the bus or use EZfare smart cards to tap and ride. This revolutionary solution simplifies journeys across the region, eliminating the need to buy tickets ahead of time or from multiple systems, and replacing it with a simple tap of a phone or card. Thanks to monthly fare capping, CincyLink riders will get the best fares available and never pay more than $120 a month – which corresponds to the price of a monthly pass. This demonstrates a commitment by BCRTA to keeping public transit accessible and convenient for all riders, recognizing its fundamental role in enabling economic and social growth.

The launch of ABT has been made possible by Masabi’s Fare Payments-as-a-Service (FPaaS) approach, delivering agencies the latest fare payment innovations quickly and cost-effectively using Justride – a cloud-native multi-tenant platform, which is constantly updating and adding new features. This greatly improves the journey experience for passengers by delivering constant innovation, and helps agencies keep up with the pace of technology change. It also reduces the total cost of fare collection as the costs are shared between all agencies on the platform through reduced build, update and maintenance costs.

Account-Based Ticketing can also be accessed in the Transit app. Riders were previously able to buy and activate tickets in the same app they used to plan trips and track their ride in real time, and with the advent of account-based ticketing, they are now empowered with an extra level of fare flexibility and equity. In just a few taps, riders can add funds to their EZfare account in Transit, and then scan a QR code to pay their fare as they board, with the confidence that their individual transactions in a month will never sum to more than the price of a monthly pass.

“Convenience should be at the core of public transit, and the launch of ABT will make riding BCRTA services more convenient than ever, with boarding a bus now as easy as pressing a button on your phone,” said Shawn Cowan, Director of Customer Care and Public Engagement at BCRTA. “We’re delighted to be rolling out this technology to our riders, and are excited to hear what they think!”

“By upgrading to ABT, BCRTA is joining other EZfare agencies in adopting a solution that makes riding its services easier and more convenient for their customers”, says Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi. “This expands Masabi’s ABT rollout across EZfare agencies to three, with more to follow, and our ticketing technology is enabling them to transform the way customers interact with public transit – offering an easier and more convenient transit experience for all.”

“We want to make riding public transit as simple, stress-free, and financially accessible as possible, and this new launch in partnership with BCRTA, EZfare, and Masabi helps do that,” said David Block-Schachter, Chief Business Officer at Transit. “BCRTA passengers already rely on Transit to find their next trip and track their ride in real time. Adding the ability to simply scan a QR code to buy fares – with built-in fare capping to boot – makes choosing the bus a no-brainer for even more riders in Butler County than before.