FARE COLLECTION
ather than pay for journeys
using cash, or queue to top
up their Breeze smart card,
passengers will be able to buy
tickets online through their
smartphone. Breeze Mobile
is reliant on a QR code-based
ticket platform, which is
available through a mobile app, and
validates travel for users when entering
and leaving the metro system, and
boarding and disembarking a bus.
Spanning 48 miles of metro lines
and 92 bus routes covering nearly
1,400 miles, Atlanta possesses the
ninth largest urban transportation
system in the United States.
Th e Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid
Transit Authority has already deployed
the Breeze smart card with great success.
Th e mobile ticketing system is an
add-on to the Breeze system and will
also be available to use on Georgia Regional
Transportation Authority’s transit
buses, the Atlanta Streetcar, and bus
services operated by Gwinnett County
Transit and CobbLinc. Th is means
more people will have access to modern
ticketing helping to improve public
transit integration in the region.
Working with its partners on the
project, sister companies Kapsch CarrierCom
and Kapsch Public TransportCom,
Kapsch Traffi cCom conducted
full testing of the system in a
real-world environment. Th is involved
installing the hardware containing
the QR code reader on the metro
network’s gates and on bus ticket
validators. Th e components of the system
were then tested initially by MARTA
staff , who provided valuable feedback,
ahead of a two-week employee
pilot, followed by four weeks of testing
by everyday passengers.
System Rollout
Aft er the contract had been secured,
the focus was on rolling out the system
within the 18-month deadline.
For MARTA this will involve
installing metrogate validators on
642 bi-directional gates at 38 rail
stations, as well as bus validators on
565 fi xed-route and 211 paratransit
buses. In addition, installation is
required on GRTA’s 166 fi xed-route
buses, the 71 fi xed-route and 10
paratransit buses operated by Gwinnett
County Transit, Cobb County
Transit’s 84 fi xed-route and 29
12 | Expo Daily | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | OCTOBER 9, 2017
paratransit buses, and the 16 light rail
vehicles operated by Atlanta Streetcar.
As well as hardware installation,
work is also set to take place to fi nalize
the system architecture for the mobile
ticketing system. Indeed, confi guring
the mobile app, customer website, back
offi ce website and regional capability
is the fi rst phase of the rollout process.
With mobi.guider Pure, Kapsch
will supply the commercial and operational
back offi ce. Bytemark will
provide a mobile app for iOS and
Android, customer service tools and
the customer website. All Bytemark
components are integrated with the
Kapsch commercial back offi ce while
another partner, TransTrack Systems,
will provide customized dashboards
and reporting.
Once fi nalized, the focus will
shift to hardware installation, with
one bi-directional lane expected to
be installed at every metro station by
October 2017, and all station work
completed by Fall 2018. Upgrades to
validators on fi xed-route buses will be
completed by November 2017, and installation
on paratransit vehicles will
take place over the winter.
Mobile Ticketing
Arrives in Atlanta
R
Kapsch was
selected for
the $10 million
contract, which
includes a
7-year warranty/
maintenance
period, after
it proved the
validity of the
mobile ticketing
system during
an extensive
and competitive
pilot program
and successfully
bidding for and
winning the
contract.
Public transit users in Atlanta are set to
enjoy the benefi ts and added convenience
of smartphone ticketing.
By David Brandauer
MARTA
David Brandauer is
president of Kapsch
CarrierCom North
America Inc.
» Visit Kapsch at booth 2808.
The regional rollout will be
finalized in spring 2018.
Twitter/ceomarta
