New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) introduced a mobile ticketing pilot program that will transform Pascack Valley Line customers’ smart phones into their train tickets, enabling them to purchase one-way tickets and monthly passes anytime, anywhere.
Called MyTix, the app is now available for free download on any Web-enabled iOS or Android operating system, via the App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. MyTix allows customers to purchase one-way tickets and monthly passes securely on their mobile devices for travel on the Pascack Valley Line, as well as between Penn Station New York and the Meadowlands Rail Station for special events.
MyTix was designed with input from customer focus groups, as well as NJ Transit front line rail employees and customer service staff.
“Giving customers the ability to purchase and display rail tickets right from their phones will make traveling on NJ Transit trains even more convenient for the customers who use our system every day,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chairman James Simpson. “Although the initial pilot is for our Pascack Valley and Meadowlands Rail Line customers, our ultimate goal is to put this technology into the hands of all of our rail customers.”
NJ Transit is offering the mobile ticketing option as a pilot program to test the functionality of the app and determine the feasibility of expanding it to include other rail lines. Following a three-month pilot program on the Pascack Valley Line, NJ Transit will evaluate MyTix and make any needed adjustments before expanding the program to additional lines, with the goal of a full system-wide rail rollout by the end of the year.
The Pascack Valley Line was chosen for the pilot because the smaller customer base and more consistent rail crew and equipment assignments provide an ideal testing and training environment. In addition, the Pascack Valley Line allows NJ Transit to test the mobile ticketing technology at the Secaucus Junction fare gates.
To purchase tickets via MyTix, customers must first install the app and then create an account, which will save customers’ profile information and history of ticket purchases for ease of use. Purchased tickets must be activated prior to boarding the train and displayed to train crews upon request (one-way tickets expire two hours after activation; monthly passes self-activate on the first day of the calendar month and remain active for the entire month). Customers transferring at Secaucus Junction will need to scan the ticket barcode on the fare gate readers to pass through the gates.
