The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) has contracted with Flowbird Group, a global supplier of intelligent transport solutions, to develop an account-based ticketing solution that will allow passengers to move across IndyGo services in Indianapolis, including local fixed route transit service, bus rapid transit service and paratransit service.

In June of 2018, Flowbird was awarded the contract with IndyGo after responding to an RFP that addressed the future goals of the IPTC fare collection system.  The comprehensive, account-based ticketing solution is being designed to include the following:

  • 104 Strada Ticket Vending Machines used for off-board fare payment for bus rapid transit. These will be deployed over a 5-year period with the first 35 scheduled in 2019. The Strada devices accept coins, bills, credit and debit cards.
  • A custom mobile ticketing app available on iOS and Android platforms.
  • 104 Station Validators to be deployed over a 5-year period, with the first 35 to be deployed at station platforms in 2019.
  • 268 Axio Touch electronic validators installed on each fixed-route bus and paratransit vehicle in the fleet, validating payments from the TVMs or mobile ticketing app.
  • 2 Retail Desk systems that allow customer service representatives to help riders manage accounts and pay for fares in person.
  • Handheld validation and citation issuance system.
  • Cloud-based reporting and system management where all products, fares, and messages can be remotely changed in real time.

By modernizing fare collection, IndyGo will be able to provide more convenient payment methods, which should increase access to the transit system, speed boarding time, and reduce other operating costs of fare collection . The account-based system offers new data collection capabilities, as well as flexible and equitable fare policies – the most significant of which for IndyGo is a $15.75 weekly fare cap.

“IndyGo is improving nearly every component of our transit offering, from frequency and hours of service, to speed of travel and weekend hours. The current cash-only or prepaid paper pass fare collection system that we have in place today does limit spontaneous use of transit. A comprehensive fare upgrade in the midst of a system overhaul is a huge opportunity,” said Bryan Luellen VP of Public Affairs for IndyGo.

Many transit agencies in the U.S. are working toward deploying a comprehensive account-based ticketing system.  The partnership between IndyGo and Flowbird will accomplish that objective, greatly enhancing the user experience while serving to continue Flowbird North America’s growth in the transit sector where it serves major transit agencies such as New York City Transit, Houston METRO, METRO Minneapolis, and M-1 Rail in Detroit.  This project also complements successful Flowbird projects in Indianapolis, where more than 300 Flowbird solar-powered kiosks help manage parking downtown for the City and for Indiana University.

The account-based ticketing system is planned to be launched in the Spring of 2019.