PORT ANGELES — Need to catch a Clallam Transit bus?
There’s going to be an app for that.
The Clallam Transit board voted 6-0 Monday to approve a one-year mobile ticketing pilot project that will enable riders to purchase and display a bus pass with a smartphone.
“When I’m ready to use it, I tap on it, it’s there, I show the driver and off I go,” Operations Manager Steve Hopkins said in a Monday demonstration to the board.
Clallam Transit General Manager Kevin Gallacci said the Token Transit system should be up and running by mid-October.
“It takes about six weeks for marketing and training to get it set up,” Gallacci said in a Wednesday interview.
The San Francisco-based vendor will cover the setup costs, marketing and app development, Hopkins said.
The Token Transit app allows customers to purchase a single fare or monthly bus pass using a credit card.
Once the pass is loaded onto a smartphone or other device, it can be activated by tapping on the app.
A rider taps a “Start my trip” button, prompting a color-coded photograph to appear with a running scroll for a short time. The image and scroll are displayed to the bus driver as the passenger steps onboard.
“The operators will know today is a blue Lake Crescent day,” Hopkins said.
“Tomorrow might be a green Joyce General Store day. It will change each day.
“We send them the pictures, and we will have a listing,” Hopkins added, “so that it cuts down on fraud.”
Clallam Transit presently does not accept credit cards, and some riders have complained that cash fares and passes are inconvenient, Hopkins said.
“Many of our of transit users already have a phone in their pocket,” Hopkins said, “so mobile ticketing has become quite popular at transit agencies around the world at this point.”
During the pilot program, Token Transit Inc. will keep 10 percent of purchases of $2 or more and 7 percent of purchases less than $2 plus 6 cents, according to a staff memo.
Clallam Transit vendors that sell physical bus passes retain a 5 percent fee.
Given its potential to attract new riders, Clallam Transit board member Patrick Downie said a mobile ticketing system would be a “good business decision.”
In addition to the added convenience for customers, Clallam Transit will receive ridership data from the vendor.
“This agency provides us with a visualization of where are people using our services, where are they getting on the bus, where are they activating their tickets,” Hopkins said.
Clallam Transit can terminate the agreement with Token Transit with 30 days’ notice.
Should Clallam Transit decide to use mobile ticketing beyond the pilot program, it would be required to go out to bid.
“They’re willing to do a pilot for a year,” Hopkins said of Token Transit.
“They are currently doing pilots with agencies both larger and smaller than ours, and in rural areas such as ours.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
