The data offers some key perceptions and priorities of the 102 responding organizations around the world about ticketing hardware modernization

Based on a commissioned September 2024 survey questionnaire “emailed to the leaders of public transit agencies and organizations* across the world anonymously via Global Mass Transit” on the topic of ticketing hardware, an identity security firm has announced some of its findings from the data.

First, about 43% of respondents had indicated aims to implement contactless ticketing systems, with 88% planning deployment within the next 12 to 24 months.

Second, nearly two-thirds of respondents had ranked “user-friendly interfaces” as the most important feature in ticketing hardware.

Other findings
Third, open-loop contactless ticketing systems were cited by 43% of respondents planning deployments within the next five years, with 86% of Europe respondents using app-based solutions, compared to 58% globally. Also:

  • More than half of respondents had indicated that their organizations had plans to “prioritize single ticketing interfaces that can read multiple ticket types, are user-friendly and provide data.”
  • 40% of respondents cited according a high priority for solutions built on open architecture. For respondents in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, proprietary technology was cited as a significant hurdle.
  • Respondents had indicated that 87% of ticketing hardware is broadly deployed across vehicles, stations and bus rapid transit stops, with 85% citing onboard installations, approximately half citing deployments at stations and interchanges.
  • 87% of North America respondents had cited fare boxes, cash payments and closed-loop cards as the predominant modes of fare payment, while 58% had cited mobile ticketing via app-based payment systems as gaining traction, especially among Europe respondents (86%).
  • When asked to identify the top issues that respondents needed their organization to address, five were cited: reducing reliance on cash payments; enhancing the passenger experience; expanding contactless and mobile payment options; collecting detailed ridership data; and reducing dependency on proprietary ticketing systems.
  • Three ticketing hardware features ranked most important were: user-friendly design (around 66%); an open architecture (40%), and a single ticket reading interface (around 50% or more)

The survey was commissioned by HID.