MBTA Launches New App To Make Your Phone Your Commuter Rail Ticket
BOSTON (CBS) - People riding the commuter rail on all North Station lines will now be able to purchase and display tickets on their smart phones.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
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Customers who download the MBTA's mTicket app can purchase one-way, round trip or ten-ride tickets using a debit or credit card. Monthly passes are likely to be added later.
The program starts Monday and will eventually be expanded to South Station lines and ferries after Thanksgiving, according to the Boston Globe.
The MBTA has been testing the application in some areas on the South Shore, making the T the first major U.S. commuter rail service to offer this feature.
They hope the new system will save money and time.
If you store your information for re-use, you can purchase your tickets in about five seconds.
Conductors won't scan your phone, they'll just look at the screen to confirm a digital watermark that will be changed every day.
The more people who use the app, the less money MBTA workers will have to handle.
Right now, they process about $20 million in cash a year, according to the Globe.
The electronic ticket would help the T become a little greener too, because you'll start seeing a lot less paper on the floor of trains created by those ticket punchers.
And if conductors don't have to spend as much time making change, they'll be freed up to do more of their other duties like opening and closing doors, answering rider questions and making announcements.
