The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) mobile ticketing platform for riders reached $1 million in sales since its introduction system-wide on November 28, 2012.
In just less than three months, over 100,000 tickets have been purchased by more than 35,000 unique users using the ‘mTicket’ smartphone app. This means that customers are able to purchase passes for both the commuter rail and ferry service right from their phones — anytime, anywhere. They also are able to use their passes from their phones, eliminating a significant amount of waste from paper ticketing.
“The development and implementation of mobile ticketing for our commuter rail customers represents not only an improvement in service and convenience, but also in the way we are collecting revenue,” said Dr. Beverly Scott, GM of the MBTA. “We are still early in the effort but we feel we are saving thousands by not installing expensive vending machines, saving on ticket production and eliminating cash transactions — all while making riders commutes easier.”
In January alone, the number of unique visitors on an average weekday is 4,100 — up over 1,000 from usage in December. Almost 50,000 unique transactions have taken place and that number is only expected to grow as adoption increases and customers utilize the convenience of the ‘mTicket’ for their daily commutes or weekend excursions.