Optical barcode readers will allow for seamless transfers from Metrolink to Metro Rail.
LOS ANGELES - Today, the Metrolink Board of Directors approved up to an additional $2.2 million enabling its transition to mobile ticketing.
This funding is for optical barcode readers at Metro Rail station turnstiles, which will allow Metrolink tickets and passes purchased on mobile devices to seamlessly open gates. This action was necessary to ensure Metrolink customers can ride Metro Rail with the same ticket or pass.
These readers will complement Metrolink's mobile ticketing solution set to rollout in the coming months. Through the app, Metrolink riders will be able to purchase a train ticket on their smartphone, tablet, or other mobile devices and display the ticket on-screen for inspection.
"The Metrolink Board of Directors has long stressed the importance of bringing Metrolink into the 21st century in terms of ticket purchasing," Metrolink CEO Art Leahy said. "This action is an important milestone taking us one step closer to providing a digital option for Metrolink riders transferring to Metro rail. Passengers will soon be able to buy a ticket using their phone for travel throughout Southern California."
Today's board decision authorized Leahy to amend the contract with Masabi, a company that specializes in mobile ticketing innovations, and increase funding authorization by an amount of $2.2 million, not to exceed $3.8 million.
Masabi has developed mobile ticketing and fare collection systems for more than 25 transit agencies and operators around the world including the New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Transit System in San Diego.
This fall, riders on all seven Metrolink service lines will have the option of buying their tickets through mobile ticketing and continue a seamless connection to dozens of city bus, shuttle bus, light rail and subway lines at no additional cost.
Since the agency's inception in 1991, passengers purchasing tickets and passes at stations only had the option of going to a ticket vending machine.
In February, Inland Empire-Orange County (IE-OC) Line riders will have the option to buy tickets on their phones. The IE-OC Line operates between the Riverside-Downtown and Oceanside stations servicing Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties. This line was chosen as the first line because it does not connect to Metro Rail stations, which requires the optical barcode readers and will not be available until this spring.
Once the optical barcode readers are installed and mobile ticketing is available on all lines, Metrolink riders transferring to a Metro Rail line will scan the bar code on the digital ticket on turnstiles and validators. When boarding a bus, passengers will continue to show bus operators the Metrolink ticket.
The option to purchase passes online and display on an electronic device is also being developed, however will not be introduced at the same time as mobile ticketing. Metrolink tickets and passes will continue to be available at Metrolink station ticket machines.
For additional information on Metrolink's tickets and pricing, please visit www.metrolinktrains.com.
ABOUT METROLINK (www.metrolinktrains.com)
Metrolink is Southern California's regional commuter rail service in its 23rd year of operation. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network. Metrolink is the third largest commuter rail agency in the United States based on directional route miles and the eighth largest based on annual ridership.
###
