Public transit riders in Dallas and Fort Worth can now pay for their passes using a new smartphone app, one of the first of its kind in the U.S.
The announcement comes within weeks of Portland unveiling the first smartphone transit ticketing app in the states. But the system in Dallas offers more. The DART transit agency's GoPass app is good on commuter rail and bus services, as well as partner agencies—the Fort Worth T and the Denton County DCTA. And even though it's now possible to buy everything from cars to vacations on your phone, it's still remarkable when a transit agency gets on board.
Despite a few commuter rail and ferry services that allow for smartphone payment, buying a fare with an app is relatively uncommon in the U.S. It's mostly because public transit must be -- as its name suggests -- open for all, and it's hard to integrate smartphone payments along with coin collectors and senior passes. That's especially problematic for cash-strapped transit agencies.
But DART, the T and DCTA found that mobile ticketing might be easier and quicker for riders, especially after special events when the lines build up at ticket machines. According to DART, more than half the three agencies' riders already carry smartphones, so mobile ticketing seemed like a no-brainer.
"It's not the ticketing that makes this interesting," said DART CFO David Leininger. "It's the convenience factor."
Passes purchased on a smartphone can be saved into a "digital wallet" for up to 60 days. Color coding shows how close the pass is to expiration. Soon, those with corporate and student passes will be able to add them to the app, and riders will also be able to purchase special tickets that include admission to events and museums.
Like TriMet in Portland, DART relies on bus conductors and fare inspectors to enforce payment, rather than turnstiles and gates. That makes smartphone payment a lot easier to implement than with automated fare collection. Once a pass is activated on the GoPass app, it displays a countdown timer showing how much time is left on the fare. Riders and fare inspectors alike can instantly know whether a ticket is valid.
GoPass debuted on September 10. In the first week of operation, according to CBS Dallas, the app was downloaded 2,500 times. Half of those downloads took place on the first weekend the app was available.
