MBTA mobile ticketing app in top 10 for award
The mTicket app will be competing for top honors in the 2013 America’s Transportation Awards, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)’s Mobile Ticketing Project has been named one of the top 10 transportation projects in the U.S. and will be competing for top honors in the 2013 America’s Transportation Awards, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, (AASHTO), AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The MBTA is looking to the public to help vote, up to 10 times per day, for the mTicket app to win the People’s Choice Award for the best transportation project in the country for 2013.
In November of 2012, the MBTA launched a mobile ticketing program that allows customers on the MBTA Commuter Rail Line and Ferry to use their smartphones instead of paper tickets. This project now allows customers to purchase tickets and passes using the MBTA mTicket app for iPhone and Android devices. The tickets are displayed on the phone’s screen as a digital ‘flash pass’ or encrypted barcode. The system uses the JustRide mobile ticketing platform from Masabi US Ltd. Since its launch, mTicket has sold over one million tickets and generated over $10 million in sales.
“It is wonderful that the MBTA is being acknowledged on a national level by AASHTO for our mobile ticketing project. Not only has mobile ticketing provided a convenient way for customers to purchase tickets, but it has resulted in nearly $70 million in savings,” said GM Beverly Scott. “This award also highlights the MBTA’s commitment to two of our top priorities: customer service and innovation. We’re proud of this national recognition as we continue to identify creative measures that enhance our customers’ experience.”
According to AASHTO, this year, 24 states entered a total of 36 projects into the competition with the 10 finalists receiving the highest number of overall points during four regional contests. The Grand Prize will be awarded by a panel of judges and the People’s Choice Award will be decided by popular vote of the general public. The winners of both the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award will be awarded with $10,000 each, which must be donated by those state Departments of Transportation to a charity or scholarship of their choice. The two awards will be presented Oct. 20 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Denver.
Online voting began Sept. 4 and will continue through Oct. 2, at www.AmericasTransportationAwards.org. Individuals can vote through mbta.com or through the mTicket app.
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