Public transit agencies have spent decades fighting the same battle: fare collection projects that arrive late, cost more than planned, and force every deployment to start from scratch. Bespoke systems made delays and overruns the norm, not the exception.
We've been documenting a different path. In 2024, Masabi delivered 42 major fare collection upgrades - a record at the time. In 2025, that more than doubled to 93 major upgrades, delivered 15% faster than the year before, with up to 46 projects running concurrently and 39 on average across the year.
The obvious question heading into 2026 was whether that pace was a peak or a trajectory. After 5 months of the year, the answer is clear: the model isn't just holding - it's maturing. And as it matures, it's getting both faster and bigger, with a 49% increase in projects delivered compared to last year.
For decades, fare collection followed a predictable pattern: long procurement cycles, multi-year development timelines, one-off integrations, and custom codebases that had to be rebuilt or built upon for every agency. That created the well-known "A, B, and C team" dynamic - flagship deployments got the best resources while everyone else waited their turn.
This wasn't a talent problem. It was a model problem. When every project is a ground-up build, lessons don't transfer, resources don't flex, and running multiple high-quality projects in parallel is nearly impossible.
SaaS fare collection flips that model. With a platform like Justride, agencies configure proven, continuously improving capabilities instead of commissioning a one-off system. There's no unique infrastructure per deployment, no bespoke codebase to maintain, and no waiting in line for the "A team."
The compounding effect of that approach is what's showing up in 2026. When delivery patterns are repeatable, each project teaches the next one. Mobilization gets quicker, configuration gets more standardized, and the same global delivery team can run more work in parallel without sacrificing quality. Speed and scale stop being a trade-off.
For agencies starting the process today, that maturity translates directly: faster mobilisation, more standardised onboarding, and a platform that's been configured for systems like yours before.
Just over five months into the year, the numbers for Masabi point to another record pace:
49% increase year on year in the number of major upgrades with 58 major project upgrades delivered in 2026 to date (Jan-May).
An increase in the average number of projects being delivered concurrently from 39 in 2025 to 45 in 2026.
These launches aren't a single type of project, and that's the point. SaaS enables breadth and velocity across multiple innovation tracks at once - Account-Based Ticketing on mobile and smart cards, Open Payments (contactless bank cards), mobile ticketing, validator and TVM modernization, and platform migrations - all moving in parallel rather than queued behind one another.
A few of this year's publicly announced go-lives show the range:
Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) launched MyKey+, the next generation of its Account-Based Ticketing system.
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), which is part of the EZfare regional solution, went live with Account-Based Ticketing, bringing "tap to ride" to a major metro system
Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) expanded its ValleyRide system with Open Payments, adding contactless bank-card acceptance on top of an existing deployment.
Nine major launches across the UK, spanning new app and website experiences, journey planning, and contactless fare collection. It is further proof that the same configurable platform delivers modern fare payments at pace, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Arriva, one of the UK's largest bus operators, launched a national app. The project provides a new technology solution for mobile ticketing, data management, journey planning, and real-time information for Arriva’s communities, businesses, and visitors UK-wide.
Xunta de Galicia launched Spain's first regional, multi-operator Account-Based Ticketing system - a technically complex deployment spanning multiple operators under a single back office, delivering seamless travel across a region without requiring each operator to run their own system. It's the kind of launch that demonstrates not just delivery speed, but platform depth.
Sioux City Transit went live with MyRide Sioux City, bringing smart cards and a mobile app to a smaller community system.
Yolobus joined Transit Connect, Sacramento's regional mobile ticketing service, extending seamless travel across agency boundaries.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) launched a custom in-app ticket purchasing experience designed to help manage access to dedicated stadium transportation services during the major international soccer matches taking place in Boston this summer.
Collier Area Transit (CAT), the public transportation system serving Collier County, Florida, launched Account-Based Ticketing (ABT). The upgrade extends CAT's existing mobile ticketing capability, to become a fully Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) system, and is available via an updated rideCAT app and new Go Pass smartcards.
Each of these reflects a different entry point and a different stage of maturity - new capabilities, expansions, and migrations - delivered on the same platform by the same team. Agencies describe the mobilisation process as markedly different from traditional procurement - faster to get started, and with far less internal resource burden during configuration.
The other reason agencies are moving faster is that they don't have to do everything at once. SaaS lets them modernize in phases that match funding cycles and operational realities:
Mobile-first: launch mobile ticketing and visual validation, then expand to Account-Based Ticketing with smart cards, mobile devices and debit/credit cards.
Open Payments-first: launch contactless EMV quickly, then add smart cards and other media later while integrating with existing back-office and partner systems through mature APIs and SDKs - no rebuild required.
That's why a record number of platform migrations in early 2026 matters. Modernization on a SaaS platform isn't a disruptive, multi-year forklift; it's an upgrade path that gets smoother each time we run it.
Fare collection has reached a turning point. The old model - slow, risky, custom - can't keep pace with what riders and agencies need. The trajectory tells the story:
2024: 42 major upgrades
2025: 93 major upgrades, 15% faster
2026: on pace for another record, with upgrades already up 49% year on year!
That's not just a bigger number each year. It's evidence that a platform delivery model compounds - the more you deliver, the more efficiently you deliver, and the more you can take on without slowing down.
Don't build. Configure. Don't wait. Launch.