Star Tribune
Metro Transit explores letting riders pay fares with credit cards, mobile apps
Better days are ahead for Metro Transit riders who find themselves fumbling for bills and coins to feed the cashbox or having to buy tickets from a vending machine to pay fares.
The transit agency is looking to upgrade its fare collection equipment, and with it add the ability for customers to simply tap a credit card or debit card on a validator or use services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Cash App to pay for their rides. Cash would still remain an option.
“We are hoping with the combination of fare inspectors and easier payments that we will see better fare compliance,” said Dennis Dworshak, Metro Transit’s senior manager of Revenue Operations during a presentation at Monday’s Met Council Transportation Committee meeting.
The full Met Council still needs to sign off on the plan to spend $37.7 million to replace card validators and other fare collection equipment, much of which was put in in the mid 2000s and has reached the end of its life, Dworshak said.
If approved, Metro Transit would enter into a contract with Cubic to provide new equipment and technology, which would also bring the new payment options to riders on SouthWest Transit, Maple Grove Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and Plymouth Metrolink.
Current Go-To cards would be phased out over the next two to three years and replaced with new smart cards, allowing families or businesses to tie multiple cards to a single account. It also will allow customers to see in real time when cash is added, allowing riders to instantly see their balance.
Metro Transit also would be able to sell gift cards at retailers such as Target and Walmart that could be used to buy fares, officials said.
In December, Metro Transit stepped up fare compliance efforts by sending inspectors out on light-rail trains and buses to crack down on those who ride but don’t pay. The effort was part of a larger multi pronged effort to beat back crime, connect those in need with social services and improve customer experience for all riders.
With the new technology, officers, instead of having to carry ticket pads and write citations by hand, would be able to print out tickets and scan ID cards, rather than use pen and paper to record a violator’s identity.
But the main reason is to improve the customer experience with fare paying ,Dworshak said. Many riders get frustrated trying to use vending machines that are slow and cumbersome to use, and may be tempted to just get on and risk a citation. Others, like visitors, don’t know how to use them, Dworshak said
“Customers can bypass the ticket vending machine, tap their credit card and get on the bus or train,” he said.
Transit systems in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and New York City already use similar payment systems.
“We are excited, the technology is there and ready to be used,” said Ed Petrie, Metro Transit’s director of Finance. “We are matching today’s technology which will be nice for the customer.”
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
