Garden City, N.Y.-based Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) signed a pilot agreement with Masabi to bring smartphone ticketing to NICE bus riders.

NICE will become among the first U.S. bus transit system to offer smartphone ticketing to its customers, featuring smartphone payment apps for both iPhone and Android. NICE’s paratransit system, known as Able-Ride, will allow customers to use the same smartphone app to pay their fares.

With the new mobile ticketing system, riders will be able to purchase bus tickets at their convenience, and activate them as they board the vehicle. Upon boarding, riders will display to the operator a secure, visually verifiable ticket on their smartphones. For added security, mobile tickets will also feature scannable barcodes for occasional spot checks by NICE officials.

In future phases of the project, NICE may install hardware that allows riders to pay by scanning a barcode, or simply bringing their smart device in close proximity to a sensor.

With this new initiative, NICE will dramatically expand the ease and convenience with which its customers can buy bus tickets. It will also speed up the boarding process, according to the agency.

NICE is a public-private operating partnership between Nassau County and Veolia Transportation. Veolia manages all aspects of the transit system under contract to the county, effectively serving as the transit agency.