Over the last nine months, transit agencies of all sizes across North America have gone live with contactless tap-to-ride solutions on Masabi's Justride platform, from large city networks to mid-sized regional systems and island bus services.
That breadth matters. Scale is the real test of a platform. Running contactless fare collection reliably, day in and day out, across thousands of buses and millions of trips is where platform maturity shows itself. That is where tried and tested experience separates a complete Open Payments platform from a feature bolted onto a farebox or a simple single fare solution.
Nine months, every size of agency
Masabi’s Open Payments momentum is not concentrated in one type of system. It spans the full range of North American transit:
Large metro networks are rolling out systemwide contactless payments and rewards, like RTD Denver, which launched Open Payments tap-to-ride across the metro region, and RTC of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.
Regional and mid-sized agencies are modernizing fare collection with tap-to-ride and fare capping, like Rochester RTS and COTA in Columbus.
Smaller and community systems are bringing the same modern experience to every rider, like Kaua'i Bus, which took Open Payments islandwide.
Mobility hubs and airports, like Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), where travelers tap to ride between the airport and the city center.
And the wave continues, with agencies like LANTA in Pennsylvania expanding their ValleyRide system to accept contactless bank cards.
Different sizes, different goals, same platform. Whatever the system, every rider gets the same core promise: tap a contactless card or wallet, and the platform does the rest.
Easier than buying a cup of coffee
The rider experience is deliberately invisible. No app to download. No pass to choose. No paper ticket. No fare chart to study. A rider taps a bank card or phone, and Justride records the trip, calculates what is owed, and automatically applies the best fare.
For agencies, the operational wins stack up fast: faster boarding, less cash to handle, simpler reconciliation, and a payment method riders already have in their wallet. Open Payments has shifted the conversation from "should we" to "how fast can we."
Where Masabi goes deeper
With Open Payments, the question is no longer whether a vendor can accept a tap. The real question is what happens after the tap. This is where Masabi's platform depth shows:
Concessions on contactless, not just full fare. Through Account Linking, eligible riders (seniors, students, disabled, and low-income) get their verified discount applied automatically to their own contactless bank card. The card becomes just another way into the system, with the same benefits as everyone else.
Fare capping that follows the rider. Justride applies daily, weekly, and monthly best fare protection at the account level (when selected by the agency). Capping is a core part of the platform, not a future roadmap item.
One account engine across every fare medium. The same back office powers Open Payments, mobile ticketing, and smart cards. Agencies can start with open payments and expand to other media later, all on one platform, without ripping anything out or needing a separate back office.
Certified, secure, and built to scale. Masabi provides a Level 3 EMV-certified solution that can be reused to launch new agencies faster and at lower cost. We can also support new certifications, provide a Merchant of Record service, and support agencies through PCI chain of custody rules.
Inclusion for cash riders. By supporting options like Cash App cards, Justride gives riders who normally rely on cash an easy way to tap and pay, extending the same convenience and fare benefits to everyone.
Rewards on a tap. Masabi teamed up with Visa and Velocia to launch a rewards program, recognizing and rewarding frequent riders who tap to pay with a contactless card. Masabi can support similar programs like this for agencies. It is proof that an account engine behind the tap can do far more than move a fare: it can build the rider relationship.
The takeaway
Open Payments in North America is no longer about whether the technology works. It works. The questions now are about platform depth, scale, and value: Can the platform apply concessions and capping on a bank card? Can it run across thousands of buses without drama?
Nine months of launches across every size of agency answer all three. Masabi has the deep, repeatable Open Payments experience to deliver contactless fare collection that is simple for riders, efficient for agencies, and built to grow.
Don't build. Configure. Don't wait. Tap and ride.
