Suggested Citation:
Pike, Susan, Katherine Turner, Staly Chin, Andrea Nguyen (2025)

Brief: Challenges are Present, But California Transit Agencies Are Open to Open-loop

Open-loop fare payment systems are an emerging technology that allows customers to pay with credit cards, debit cards, smartphone applications, and digital wallets when boarding transit vehicles or entering platform areas. The California Integrated Travel Program (Cal-ITP) aims to foster the implementation of open-loop payments among California’s transit agencies. What do transit agencies have to say about this goal and the challenges it might pose for them and their travelers? Researchers from the University of California, Davis gathered surveys from a small sample of transit agencies (N = 21) and found that agencies are interested in open-loop payments, agencies and passengers would likely support it, but that it also presents challenges for agencies and passengers. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that research and provides policy implications. 

This research brief is drawn from “All Aboard! Easier Transit Travel with Standardized Payments,” a report from the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, authored by Katherine Turner, Staly Chin, Andrea Nguyen, and Susan Pike of the University of California, Davis. The full report can be found on the NCST website at https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/all-aboard-easier-transit-travel-standardized-payments. Related work is published in Findings and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.32866/001c.115437.