It’s been a decade since Masabi began working with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), bringing the ‘Ticket Machine in Your Pocket’ concept to the smartphones of New York’s commuters. At their recent board meeting the MTA approved a $97m and up to 12 years’ contract extension that will see Masabi continue to operate the much-loved mobile ticketing service for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad (MNR), and also build on the existing TrainTime app to help bring OMNY to the railroads.
Masabi will be working to integrate new platform capabilities that support promotions and loyalty, improving and simplifying the payment experience, and providing new OMNY integrations to create a more seamless experience for riders across the MTA’s network.
This deal represents a significant milestone for the company, not just in our relationship with the MTA, but also in the global adoption of the Fare-Payment-as-a-Service approach.
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TrainTime: A Case Study in Transport Ticketing Innovation
Since the 2016 launch of MTA’s eTix mobile ticketing service, Masabi’s software has become critical to Railroad fare collection operations. Today, 70 percent of MNR and LIRR’s revenue is enabled by mobile ticketing. The Railroads expect that number to significantly increase over the next two years, and customer reports show that MTA’s commuter railroad mobile ticketing application powered by Masabi is a great driver of customer satisfaction, with a 4.9/5-star rating in the app store.
With the MTA’s TrainTime app, LIRR and MNR customers can buy and activate a ticket; plan trips and see options between up to two origin and destination stations; view departure times and transfer details for a trip, including trips using both LIRR and MNR; track a train in real-time and watch it arrive with GPS data updated every few seconds; view real-time seat availability and the layout of a train; and chat live with a customer service representative.
Helping MTA bring OMNY to the Railroads
In her comments on the revised OMNY strategy Jessica Lazarus, Senior Director of the MTA said "The smartest path for customers is to double down on TrainTime."
We’re delighted to be supporting the MTA in enhancing the TrainTime app and completing OMNY delivery, while continuing to create experiences that MTA riders love. We applaud this new approach to delivering OMNY, as it brings new routes to delivering innovation combining solutions from multiple vendors.
This development underscores the benefits of Masabi as a trusted vendor in supporting major fare collection projects. By driving integrations and introducing new functionality, Masabi enables the MTA to launch projects that delight customers, meet deadlines, and stay within budget. This achievement also underscores the power of the Fare-Payment-as-a-Service approach, which reliably operates at scale, delivers innovation, and continually improves services for transit agencies of all sizes and types, ultimately creating experiences that riders love.
Speaking at the announcement of the new contract, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, said: “By treating OMNY as the megaproject that it is, we have turned a corner on delivering its benefits to all categories of customers. The new approach is going to give users the sense of interoperability they expect while limiting MTA’s contractor risk and saving millions of dollars.”
The adoption of this approach by the largest transit operator in the US and one of the biggest cities in the world represents a significant endorsement. The MTA's trust in us to manage the future of fare payment on the railroads is a testament to our capabilities, and we are excited to see what the next decade brings!
