There have been several ideas posted about short-trip tickets, refillable transit passes, and other alternatives to the fare media currently in existence for Valley Metro buses and Metro Light Rail trains. Now from Boston comes news of a pilot program for transit passes delivered via smartphone apps, involving no plastic or paper at all. See the link below for more information.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which operates buses and trains in the Boston Metropolitan Area, now offers a smartphone app as a ticketing option. It sounds like such an approach would work well with the proof-of-payment system of unannounced fare inspections on Phoenix trains. Passengers would have the option of having a code on their phone screens scanned by security personnel.

During this morning's commute to work, two separate fare inspections occurred on my train at different times during my 40-minute ride. Both times, I already had my phone out since I was using it to catch up on my work email or communicate via text message with my wife. It would have been great to simply display the phone to the security officer rather than fishing my transit pass out of my wallet. Likewise, the fare boxes on buses could be equipped to read smartphone screens.

Imagine the possibilities if this e-ticketing capability were combined in one app with transit schedules and real-time arrival information, replacing or supplementing the somewhat clunky NextRide system now in use. We'd then have a smartphone app that would make transit use easier and more convenient for discretionary passengers.

Of course, not everyone has a smartphone, so traditional fare media and print schedules would be maintained for those populations, many of them transit-dependent, that need them. Nevertheless, adding some up-to-date options for planning and paying for trips would likely increase transit's appeal. Let's investigate replicating the MBTA's successful pilot here in Phoenix.