Summary - Transit Ticketing and Fare Collection in the US 2025. Online registration by Cvent

Global Mass Transit's research on 100 cities in the US reveals that AFC market size is expected to increase to USD3.5 billion by 2029. Focus is on deployment of contactless open loop payments and account-based ticketing. Majority of the transit agencies and operators are planning to install mobile ticketing (including NFC-based, e-wallets and QR code-based), followed by bank cards. As advanced technologies are introduced to support integration and interoperability, transit agencies are also laying emphasis on prioritizing equity, accessibility and inclusivity in transit.

The integration of transit payments with segments such as financial services, automotive, identity, shared transportation, mobile, parking, EV charging, and transportation information is transforming the ticketing industry landscape. Moreover, new transportation business models including Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), on-demand mobility, and shared mobility including ride-sharing and car-sharing, ride-hailing, micro-mobility, and bike-sharing will also have a significant impact on the automated fare collection (AFC) systems industry. Technology-centred MaaS is expected to resolve urban mobility issues by integrating mobility service providers (MSPs), trip planning apps and payments.

Deployment of contactless payments will require transit agencies to explore best practices in stakeholder management, project delivery, financing models, integration of mobile payments and wallets with the existing infrastructure, digitalisation in public transport, effective collection and analysis of data, and data privacy, cybersecurity and so on. All stakeholders including transit agencies, operators, governments, private service providers, MSPs, technology providers and OEMs will have to come together to discuss these.

In light of the opportunities in the AFC market and the emerging technologies, Global Mass Transit is organizing the fifth annual conference on ‘Transit Ticketing & Fare Collection in the US’ on November 5-6 in Marines' Memorial Club & Hotel, San Francisco.

The mission of the 2025 conference is to discuss experience so far in the deployment of contactless payments for transit, opportunities in open loop payments and ABT, key emerging trends, best practices, and key challenges. The conference will also discuss integration of transit payments with retail, EV charging and on-demand mobility, and showcase innovations and new technologies.

The conference will bring together experts from leading transit agencies and operators, state/local governments, system integrators, technology and service provider firms, smartcard companies, technology and equipment manufacturers, mobile ticketing vendors, credit card companies, data architecture and IT firms, fare collection system suppliers, dynamic multiservice journey planners, taxi fleet operators, ride-hailing and ride-sharing service providers, micro-mobility providers, ticketing infrastructure providers, industry consultants, research and development organisations, financiers, technical institutes, etc.

Cashless, seamless transit in the US through contactless and open loop payments
Market size, emerging trends and future outlook
Successful case studies
Plans of transport authorities (PTAs), operators (PTOs) and governments for deploying contactless payment technology
Project delivery and financing models
Integration and interoperability of ticketing systems
ABT and open loop payments
Mobile wallets and EMV cards for transit payments
Unified mobility wallets and Super Apps
Integrating public transit with taxis, car-sharing schemes, new mobility solutions, tourist passes, retail
Electronic toll collection (ETC): digitalising toll payments
EV charging payments integrated with mobility payments
Driving in-car payments forward with mobility payments solutions
Digital identity integration
AI-powered fare systems and predictive pricing
New fare structures, subscription-based pricing models, hybrid fare products
Data generation, data sharing, data analysis and privacy
Role of ABT and open payments in MaaS
Use of new technologies in transit payments: wearables, soundbased technologies; Host CardEmulation (HCE); facial recognition, biometric payments etc.
Cybersecurity and fare infrastructure resilience
Prioritising equity, accessibility and inclusion in transit through fare systems