Duluth Transit Teams with Masabi, Transit to Launch Mobile Ticketing

Minn.’s Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) launched the MyDTA fare payment system, in partnership with Masabi and Transit. Riders will be able to purchase mobile fares anytime, anywhere, using either the new MyDTA app or Transit, DTA’s recommended real-time trip planning app.

With Transit, DTA customers now have access to an all-in-one experience that combines mobile ticketing from Masabi’s Fare Payments-as-a-Service platform with trip planning, real-time tracking, and connections to first-mile/last-mile services.

Those who prefer using cash can visit the Duluth Transportation Center (DTC) Information Booth, where DTA staff are using Masabi's Vendor Portal, a web-based solution allowing staff to look up customer accounts using a handheld scanner and issue mobile tickets or stored value directly to riders’ phones. Tickets will also be available for cash purchase at retail outlets within InComm Payments’ VanillaDirect cash-in payment network, enabling riders to preload cash onto their MyDTA or Transit account at several regional and national retailers with convenient locations throughout the Northland.

For this integration, Transit worked closely with DTA to build a new feature that will further simplify riders’ commutes. DTA users can now preview the cost of every DTA trip in Transit’s trip planner at the moment they are deciding how and when to ride. The fares feature takes peak and off-peak pricing into account, ensuring DTA riders know exactly how much their ride will cost, at any time of day, before they buy their ticket in Transit.

As part of the project, 80 Justride validation devices have been installed across DTA’s bus network. Passengers tap their phone when boarding, which scans their mobile passes and identifies the ticket as valid for use, differentiating between DTA’s peak and off-peak fares. The validation units will help speed up boarding times, making riding DTA services more efficient and safer for riders and operators, and gives DTA the flexibility to turn on Account-Based Ticketing and other account-based features. The platform also prepares the DTA to implement innovative and equitable fare capping, which allows passengers to get the best deal on fares at any time, using tracking to manage the process.

DTA staff also have access to the Justride Hub, the cloud-based back-office management suite, which allows DTA’s staff to manage the new system.