Institutional Issues and Arrangements in Interoperable Transit Smart Card Systems: A Review of the Literature on California, United States, and International Systems

Many public transit agencies in California have implemented or are in the process of implementing smart card fare collection systems. Smart cards can provide riders with a convenient fare medium that eliminates the need for exact change, and offers riders one fare card that can be used across multiple modes, operators, and even different jurisdictions. For transit operators, smart cards can minimize fare fraud and pilfering, reduce operating and maintenance costs, speed up boarding times, and enhance data collection for planning purposes. One important objective of transportation planning in California is to increase transit ridership, and smart cards are widely viewed as a way to make transit use more convenient and appealing. To date, transit agencies in California have begun to implement smart card technologies either as stand-alone systems that are incapable of interoperability with other systems, or as “regional” partner schemas where multiple agencies serving contiguous areas agree to develop compatible systems. While there is still room for debate about the appropriate scale and size of interoperable, interregional smart card systems, California may soon have many dozens of non-compatible systems, possibly affecting the ability of riders to seamlessly travel across modes, agencies, and jurisdictions. The proliferation of many non-compatible systems may also have negative consequences for transit agencies. Unique, custom-designed, and incompatible systems may lock agencies into contract renewals with particular vendors, raising system costs over time. In contrast, common platforms allow agencies to more easily procure through truly competitive bidding, and allow agencies to achieve economies of scale, as well as collect more comprehensive travel data for planning purposes.