OCTA Extends Fare System with INIT Compact Ticket Vending Machines

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has selected INIT to supply, implement, and support ticket vending machines (TVMs) at streetcar platforms across 10 stations in Orange County, California.

INIT VENDstation TVMs are designed to improve the customer experience by facilitating the purchase of encrypted barcoded paper tickets using cash, credit/debit cards, and mobile wallets. OCTA customers will be able to validate their fare media on the OC Streetcar and OCTA Bus system.

Given the agency’s platform space, the INIT VENDstation’s compact footprint allows for the implementation of two TVMs at each station. Other factors included INIT’s system integration flexibility, secure IT architecture, and INIT’s relevant experience and positive references from its other TVM customers. 

This contract represents a successful partnership between OCTA and INIT. The agency procured INIT’s fare validators in 2016, which were installed across its more than five hundred fixed-route buses. The back-office system provided the open architecture design to support OCTA’s ongoing system extensions.

The addition of INIT’s VENDstations are expected to further enhance the customer experience by providing more convenient and seamless ticketing options for riders, simplifying transit use, and allowing for potential future regional fare integration.