Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS), a business unit of Cubic Corp., announced the Ventra mobile app, launched in cooperation with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as well as the suburban bus operator Pace and the commuter rail system Metra, reached a milestone with a download of more than two million and was used to purchase nearly $250 million in fares.

The Ventra app, developed and launched by Cubic, CTA, and its transit partners in November 2015, is a free, first-of-its kind, truly regional transit application in the U.S. that allows customers to plan, manage, and pay for their journeys across three transit systems from their mobile devices. The app offers riders a wide range of functionality, including the ability to add transit value, set up auto-load features, check balance, see transit purchase, and travel history, as well as benefit from real-time notifications. The Ventra app reached one million downloads in October 2016.

“The fact that the Ventra app has been downloaded more than two million times in less than two years demonstrates why CTA is leveraging technology to improve the transit experience for our customers,” said Dorval R. Carter Jr., president of CTA. “By making transit easier to pay for and more convenient to use, we help encourage people to take advantage of great public transit in the Chicago area.”

“At the time of the launch, the Ventra app was the first transit app in the U.S. allowing customers to pay for rides on multiple transit systems. With that, we hoped it would not only become a useful and convenient tool for commuters but also help people better engage with city transit overall,” said Matt Cole, president of Cubic Transportation Systems. “Today’s milestone shows there’s a growing appetite for integrated, ‘one-stop-shop’ transportation solutions that put customers at the heart of public transit services.”

The app followed the implementation of the Ventra fare payment system, which Cubic and CTA developed and launched in 2013, in what was Cubic’s first large-scale deployment of the NextAccount technology. Ventra supports both account-based processing through an agency-issued smart card, as well as open payment, which enables customers to “pay as you go” with bank cards they already have or through mobile payment platforms including Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Samsung Pay. Ventra also gives customers the ability to fund and manage their account online through a dedicated Ventra website, where they can take advantage of discounted fare products.