mTicket: T reports $225,000 in mobile app ticket sales since November launch
Last Tuesday the MBTA’s mobile ticketing app went live for commuters who travel through South Station, and since then the transit agency has seen “tremendous sales,” with high volumes of customers opting to buy their ticket with their smartphones, a T official said today.
The technology, which launched for commuters at North Station three weeks ago, has gone over particularly well with riders on the Providence/Stoughton and Framingham/ Worcester Commuter Lines, according to the MBTA’s Director of Innovation Joshua Robin.
“People are happiest there, but overall the response has been really positive. I think customers are very happy to see it (at South Station),” said Robin.
As of Tuesday morning, the app had sold $225,000 worth of commuter rail fares throughout the entire system, with most of the sales coming from 10-ride passes.
The rise is significant, Robin said, considering that as of last Tuesday the total dollar value of transactions was $53,780.
The app is also available for single ride tickets, as well as monthly passes.
For now, customers who buy a monthly pass using the mTicket app receive a $10 discount, but
Robin said that incentive may not last forever.
“We’re not planning for it to be permanent. We’re trying it out during the pilot phase as a way to incentivize customers after we launched the app for monthly passes,” he said.
For the rest of the week, T officials plan to continue mingling with commuters at rush hour with the hope of educating them about the app.
“We’ve been in the stations every night,” Robin said. “Getting the word out and talking to riders makes all the difference.”
